Nebraska 

Corn 

Book 



E. C. BISHOP 



Published for 

The State of Nebraska 
Department of Public Instruction 

by 

The University Publishing Co. 

Lincoln 




Class 
Book. 



3^ 



Copyright N°_ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



61^1^51^- 



Nebraska Corn Book 



Including 

A Brief Treatment of the Principal Corn Plants, Potatoes 
, and Sugar Beets, with something audit Domestic 
Science, Manual Work, and Announce- 
ments Concerning the 1906 
Corn Contest and 
Convention 



BY 

E. C. BISHOP 
Deputy State Superintendent of Public Instruction 



Published for 
The Nebraska Boys and Girls' Associations 

The University Publishing Co., Lincoln 
1906 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

DEC 5 1906 



t. vopynfni Entry 

a XXfti No. 
'IK* j 



CO* 



Copyright 1906 

BY 

E. C. Bishop 






All Rights Reserved 



INTRODUCTORY 



THE LAND OF CORN 

Far inland from the raging sea, 

And its boom and rush and roar, 
There lies a land, wide, wide and green, 
As flat as a dancing floor — 

'Tis Nebraska, the land of corn. 
The sun just seems to love the land, 

For it shines the whole year through, 
And the skies smile down upon her plains, 
Serenely, calm and blue — 

O'er Nebraska, the land of corn. 

— Will Reed Dunroy in Corn Tassels. 



NEBRASKY 

Great fields of emerald bladed corn, 

That swishes in th' breeze; 
An' here and thar are little clumps, 
Of supple wilier trees — 
An' that's Nebrasky. 

— Dunroy. 



OUR HOMES, OUR PEOPLE, OUR MEMBERS, AND OUR ORGANIZATIONS 

There may be homes as dear There may be lands as fair 

But none are dearer, But none are fairer. 

Than in Nebraska. Than in Nebraska. 

There may be hearts as true 
But none are truer, 

Than in Nebraska. 

— Will Reed Dunroy. 



TO OUR MEMBERS 

Our organizations had their beginning in the spring of 1905, with a member- 
ship of five hundred Nebraska boys who entered the corn growing contest. At 
the first state meeting, December 14-16, 1905, we added "corn cooking" and in- 
itiated au equal number of Nebraska girls. This year our work includes corn, 
wheat, potato and sugar-beet growing; corn cooking, and other branches of 
cooking; hand sewing, and manual training, with work in county clubs in other 
lines of Agriculture, Domestic Science, and Manual Training. 

(3) 



4 THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 

Since our organizations had their beginning in the production and use of 
corn, and since corn is Nebraska's greatest and favorite crop; at the meeting 
of the executive committees held at York, July 27 and 28, when the question of 
the title of our 1906 "guide book" was presented, it was unanimously agreed 
that it should be named "The Nebraska Corn Book." 

In this booklet we have given liberal space to the discussion of corn, and 
have treated briefly other subjects of interest to our members. We hope that 
brief mention here will lead to investigation and study, and to profitable ex- 
perimental work on the part of our membership. 

The object of our organization is to provide suggestion and direction rather 
than instruction. The boy who carefully cultivates and studies the growth of 
a patch of corn, sugar beets, potatoes, wheat, or other plants, will gain a new 
interest and a better appreciation of the value of careful thought applied in the 
study and the adaptation of seed selection, soil fertility, and the intelligent 
culture of plants. Further, he will become interested in the best methods of 
marketing, and of the use of these plants as food for man and animal. This 
will direct him to study, to discussion, and to investigation, leading to a knowl- 
edge of systematic feeding and caring for live stock, to a study of animal adap- 
tation and needs, and to a careful consideration of the financial problems in- 
volved. This is education. 

The girl who learns by actual experience to successfully cultivate one flower, 
one vegetable, or any plant in which she becomes interested; who learns to 
bake a loaf of bread, to prepare an edible dish for the table, to can a jar of 
fruit, to make an apron for the use of herself or a member of the family, to 
neatly darn or patch a garment; — if she seeks to know and to perform these 
simple yet important duties the best way; if she combines with her work, 
cheerfulness, careful thought and intelligent study; she will ere long become 
expert in home duties, and will become such a student of nature, of the home 
and of the foundation of social life, that she will be led to a proper growth 
and development, into the student, the business woman, the home-maker, and 
the home-keeper, — the highest of all womanly callings. 

"Earth's noblest thing, — 
A woman perfected." — Lowell. 
"To reason firm, 
The temperate will, 

Endurance, foresight, strength and skill 
A perfect woman, nobly planned, 
To warn, to comfort, and command." — Wordsworth. 
"A woman should be good for everything at home." — Euripides. 

We expect each of our members to learn to do something worth doing, — 
"something the world wants done," to learn to do it well; to acquire skill with 
the hands, to combine brain and muscle; to answer so far as possible his own 
questions, by experiment and by study; each thus to become his own teacher, 
and to lead himself into an education that will bring the fullest development 
of the triunity, — the hand, the head, the heart. 

E. C. BISHOP, 
State Manager. 
Lincoln, Nebraska, Sept. 20, 1906. 



NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



THE CEREALS 



Webster tells us that a "cereal" is "any grass cultivated for its edible grain 
or the grain itself; as wheat, rye, maize, rice, etc." The Standard dictionary 
says that the wqrd "cereal" means "a plant yielding grain or farinaceous seeds 
used for food; as wheat, maize, rye, oats, barley, and millet." 

Cereal Crops. — Cereal crops include those crops of the grass family that are 
cultivated primarily for their grass or seed. They are the most important 
group of farm crops. They are adapted to the widest possible range of cli- 
matic and soil conditions, being grown the world around from the equator al- 
most to the polar circles. They are annuals and have been developed from wild 
plants by selection, breeding and careful tending. This class of plants have 
tall jointed stems, either hollow or solid, long slender leaves and usually a 
shallow fibrous root system. 

*Corn Plants. — Corn plants are called cereals or cereal grains. The word 
cereal comes to us from the myths of the Roman people. The Roman story of 
Ceres and Prosperine tells of the beginnings of agriculture, in which the "ce- 
reals" received their name from the goddess of agriculture, Ceres. 

The ancient Romans held Cereal Festivals each year at springtime and har- 
vest. At the first festival, the people thruout the country marched in pro- 
cession around their fields, imploring the favor of Ceres upon the growing 
grain. On the last day of the festival, elaborate games were held in honor of 
Ceres. The second festival came in August and was a feast of thanksgiving, 
at which time the first fruits of the harvest were brot as an offering to Ceres. 
These gifts to Ceres were called "cerealia munera" (Ceres' gifts) or simply 
"cerealia." It is thus that the corn plants became known as cerealia or cereals. 

The Assyrians and Babylonians who dwelt in the fertile valleys of the Tigris 
and Euphrates, also left evidences of their appreciation of the value of corn 
plants. One of their ancient monuments recently discovered shows a king 
offering an ear of wheat for a sacrifice. Rice, the principal corn plant of the 
Chinese, has been held in high estimation by the people of China for centuries. 
The ancient Peruvians almost worshipped the maize plant. Corn (maize) has 
been found buried with the mummies of Mexico, Peru, and Chili. When the 
first settlers came to this country they found "Indian corn" largely cultivated 
by the Indians of North America. 

"Far back through history's shadowy page 
It shines, a power of boundless good, 
The people's prop from age to age, 
The one unfailing wealth of food." 

— Celia Thaxter. 



•"Corn Plants. Their Uses and Ways of Living," by Sargent, published by Houghton, 
Mifflin & Co., Boston, presents corn plants in a most interesting manner and is a very 
complete text on this subject. 



6 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



The cereal grains are our most useful food plants. Wandering nomadic 
tribes and savages who obtain their living by hunting, fishing, and by gather- 
ing seeds and fruits of wild plants and who make but little use of domestic 
animals, cultivate the cereal grains to a very limited extent; but people who 
live in settled communities where wild fruits, seeds and roots cannot supply 
the increased and continued demand for vegetable food, and where hunting and 
fishing no longer yield the necessary amount of animal food, and whose tastes 
and habits lead them to appreciate the benefits and luxuries of a more varied 
diet and of well prepared food, make extensive use of the cereals; first, as food 
prepared directly from the cereals, and second, the seeds of cereals and the 
stover, or forage, of cereal plants as food for domestic animals which, In turn, 
supply a civilized community with beasts of burden, motive* force, and meats 
as food. As the nations have advanced in culture, their dependence upon corn 
plants has increased until new Ave must look to corn plants, principally, for 
our daily bread. 

Cereals or corn plants are thus held in high favor by all civilized people; 
first on account of their abundant yield according to the care given them, and 
second, on account of the form in which they store the nutriment, making it 
convenient to harvest and preserve the parts used as food. 

The study of proper methods of cultivation, seed selection, and propagation 
of these plants has become one of the most important subjects that occupy the 
attention of our people. In the study of scientific and practical agriculture, we 
have a field so wide, so important, and so interesting, that it is not only a fas- 
cinating study but one which yields most profitable returns. 

Frederick LeRoy Sargent, in his book called "Corn Plants," in classifying 
the important cereals, appropriately designates them as "Maize, the Corn of 
the West," "Wheat, the King of Cereals," "Oats, the Grain of Hardiness," 
"Rye, the Grain of Poverty," "Barley, the Brewer's Grain," "Rice, the Corn of 
the East." These are the corn plants in which we are principally interested. 




ROSALIE SHERMAN 



Student at the Indian School, Genoa, 
Neb. 




Sioux Indians, Pineridge Agency 

A CORN ESSAY BY A DESCENDANT OF THE ORIGINAL CORN GROWERS 

OF AMERICA 

Rosalie Sherman is an Indian girl at the Genoa Indian School, Genoa, Nebraska. Her 
mother is a Rosebud, South Dakota. Sioux Indian, who was educated at the Carlisle, 
Pennsylvania, Indian School. Her father is half Sioux. They were married at Genoa, 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 7 

where both were employed at the Indian School. Rosalie is IT years of age. This com- 
position was a part of her regular school work. It constituted a part of the Indian 
School Educational Exhibit at the close of the school year June 17, 1900. The Indians 
are proud of the fact that maize, or Indian corn, which has become such a prominent 
world product, was first raised in America by Indians. 



MAIZE 

By Rosalie Sherman, Tribe, Sioux. Rosebud Reservation, Genoa Indian School, 
Genoa, Nebr., May 7, 1906. 

Corn is a common name for Indian corn or maize. It was first grown in the 
New-world, and the United States. Corn is the principal crop of the United 
States, and needs a warmer climate than wheat does, and is therefore grown 
in the states, south of the wheat belt. 

The Navajo Indians say that they got maize from a Turkey-hen that came 
flying to them from the morning star, and shook an ear of corn from her 
feathers. 

The Indians of Massachusetts have a saying that a crow brought them a 
grain of corn in one ear and a bean in the other. 

Corn is an Anglo Saxon word and means any kind of grain. Corn, or maize, 
is the principal food supply of the people of Mexico, Central and South Amer- 
ica, and is an important element of diet in Southern Europe as well as in the 
United States. 

Maize is used in fattening cattle and swine for market, and is also used in 
the manufacture of alcohol and alcoholic liquors, starch and glucose. Corn 
starch is a common article of diet in the United States and is extensively 
exported. 

Three-fourths of the world's supply of Indian corn is raised in the United 
States. The farm value of our corn crop in 1902 was estimated at $1,017,017,349. 




CORN .RArSED BY DRY FARMING METHODS IN WESTERN NEBRASKA 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



MAIZE 



Upon a hundred thousand plains 

Its banners rustle in the breeze, 
O'er all the nation's wide domains 

Prom coast to coast betwixt the seas. 
It storms the hills and fills the vales, 

It marches like an army grand, 
The continent its presence hails, 

Its beauty brightens all the land. 

— Celia Thaxter. 

HISTORY 

Maize, or Indian corn, the term by which it is known in the Western conti- 
nent, is a native of America. It was not known in the Old World until after 
the discovery of America by Columbus. Corn, the most important of the cereal 
grains, belongs to the great Grass family, the most abundant and varied of all 
vegetable life. 

The Term "Maize." — When Columbus wrote letters from the West Indies to 
Spain, he told of a kind of bread which the natives gave him. This bread was 
made from a grain which the natives, or "Indians," as Columbus named them, 
called "mahiz." This grain has become known as maize, Indian corn, or sim- 
ply, as "corn." 

Distribution. — Columbus took some seed of this Indian corn with him on his 
return to Europe, but until the 19th century it was there regarded more as a 
curiosity than as a valuable food plant. Its use has now spread from America 
and Europe to Africa and Asia even into China and the East Indies. 

Maize, or Indian corn, to which we shall refer, generally, in this publication, 
as "corn," was first grown in Mexico and Central America; from there it was 
carried both north and south by the Indians. The familiar story of Captain 
John Smith's trips up the James River for the purpose of trading for Indian 
corn that the colonists might have food thru the long cold winter days; the 
saving of his life by Pocahontas, and his return to the colony to again make 
other trips of like nature; and the adventures of Roger Williams in his nu- 
merous expeditions among the Indians to secure a supply of this, then most 
precious grain, are reminders of the dependence of the early settlers upon In- 
dian corn, and how many times they would have suffered for lack of food had 
not the original corn raisers of America used their simple methods of raising 
corn and preserving it for use during the winter months. It is for this reason 
that, in the celebration of Thanksgiving Day, special prominence was given in 
earlier times, and is yet given in many localities, to corn, for use in decoration. 

Corn is not so widely distributed as other cereal crops. The warmer coun- 
tries of Europe and Argentina, Mexico and Egypt being the only places it is 
grown to any extent outside of the United States. The United States produces 
more than two-thirds of the total amount of corn raised in the world. 

CORN 

Meaning of the Word. — The word "corn" has various meanings by different 
people. In England corn means either wheat, barley, rye, and oats, collectively, 
or more specifically, wheat. In Scotland the word corn is generally restricted 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 9 

to mean "oats." In America the word corn means maize, or Indian corn. In 
northern Europe when "a corn field" is mentioned, it is generally understood 
to mean a "field of rye." The Englishman, unacquainted with our maize, 
thinks of a "head of wheat" when we speak of an "ear of corn." 

The word "corn" is used in the Bible in referring to various kinds of grain. 
The Mosaic law provides that "if a fire break out and catch in thorns so that 
the stalks of corn and standing corn of the field be consumed — " and "when 
thou comest into the standing corn of thy neighbor, thou mayest pluck the 
ears with thine hand; but shall not move a sickle — ." 

The words of Jesus: "except a corn of wheat fall to the ground and die, it 
abideth also" plainly indicate the meaning of the word "corn" to be "kernel." 
The direction of Moses: "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out 
the corn," is understood to apply to all grain plants harvested by the Israelites. 
We are told how Sampson in the time of the "wheat harvest" tied fire brands 
to the tails of three hundred foxes and "let them go into the standing corn of 
the Phillistines and burnt up both the shocks and also the standing corn." 

On the plains of Jerico, the Israelites "did eat of the old corn of the land." 
Jesse told his son David to take an ephah of "parched corn" and run to the 
camp of his brethren. Abagail "took five measures of parched corn." When 
David came to Mahanam, they brot him "wheat and barley flour and parched 
corn." When Jonathan hid from his enemies by going into a well "the woman 
spread a covering over the well's mouth and spread ground corn thereon." 
The disciples "were an hungered and began to pluck the ears of corn and eat. 

Ruth asked permission of her mother-in-law to go to the field and glean 
"ears of corn." She went to the field of Boaz who invited her to "glean and 
gather after the reapers among the sheaves." He further invited her: "at 
meal time come thou hither and eat of the bread," and when she sat beside the 
reapers, "he reached her parched corn and she did eat — ." After dinner "she 
gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned; and it was 
about an ephah of barley." The story concludes with: "And she kept fast 
by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of the barley harvest and the 
wheat harvest." The Psalms tell us "the valleys also are covered over with 
corn." In Genesis, we are told that "Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the 
sea" during the seven plenteous years in Egypt"; and in Deuteronomy, that 
"the fountain of Jacob shall be a land of corn and wine." 

Which cereal is meant in the following lines by Milton? 

"In one night, ere glimpse of morn 
His shadowy flail had thrashed the corn." 

And what grain is meant by the words of Jones Very? 

"Ere near thee rises green the bladed corn." 

Types of Corn. — The nearest relatives to Indian corn, such as broom corn 
and sugar cane, — resemble corn quite closely, except that in them, the seed is 
borne at the top, — not upon an ear at the side, as with corn, altho corn fre- 
quently bears seeds upon the tassel, — sometimes as scattered grains, often as 
a real ear without a husk. Few plants vary so much either in size or in the 
cLaiacter of the seed. There is great variation in the grain, in color, size, 
form and composition. There are six types of corn. Four types; dent, flint, 
sweet and pop corn are common in Nebraska. Sixty-one varieties of field corn 
are grown in this state. 



10 THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 

Pod Corn. — Pod corn, sometimes called primitive corn, is very leafy, hence 
called "Cow Corn." Each kernel is enclosed in a pod, or husk, and the whole 
ear enclosed in husks. This type is grown only in southern countries. Pod 
corn is supposed to be the original form of corn. 

Soft Corn. — Soft corn is mealy like wheat or rye. It is grown only in south- 
ern countries. It is called soft corn because of the lack of firmness in the ker- 
nel, as found in the dent and flint corns. 

Pop Corn. — In the pop corns, the external covering of the kernel is so dense 
that when the kernel is heated, the moisture in the kernel expands into steam 
and the steam is held from escaping until the pressure becomes intense, when 
the kernel suddenly bursts with a minute explosion. Fifteen varieties of pop 
corn are grown in Nebraska. The best varieties that may be grown to ad- 
vantage are white rice, pearl, and red rice. Nebraska is a large producer of 
pop corn for the general trade. The principal productive area, on a large scale, 
is on the north and middle Loup Rivers where sometimes 100 bushels to the 
acre are grown. 

Sweet Corn. — Nebraska grows twenty varieties of sweet corn. On account 
of its sweetness, this type is often called "sugar" corn. A portion of the starch 
in sweet corn is converted into sugar, which gives a shriveled appearance to 
the kernel. The vitality of sweet corn is very low. It is exceedingly difficult 
to secure a "good stand" of sweet corn without very careful testing and sort- 
ing of seed. This type of corn is common in the gardens of nearly the whole 
of the United States. There are many factories where sweet corn is canned. 
In Nebraska, there are corn canning factories at Blair, South Sioux City, Fre- 
mont, Grand Island, St. Paul, Auburn, and Nebraska City. Nebraska is the 
first state in the Union in the production of sugar corn for seed purposes and 
produces more than all the other states combined. 

The two general types of field corn which are most common are the flint 
and dent types. 

Flint Type. — Flint corns are mostly grown in northern climates where the 
season is short. The kernel has a very hard and smooth outer surface and is 
oval in form. Flint corn generally matures earlier than dent corn. It is, there- 
fore, best adapted to only the higher latitudes in western and northwestern 
Nebraska. 

Dent Type. — Dent corn is the most common and the best type raised in this 
country. It gets its name from the dented or hollow crown. Dent corn pro- 
duces large ears and is generally preferred in the corn belt where the greatest 
yield is sought. It can be grown in all parts of Nebraska but does not do so 
well in northern and western Nebraska where the altitude is high. Ried's yel- 
low dent and Learning's yellow dent are the types furnished to our state con 
testants this year. 

Other common dent varieties are: Nebraska White Prize, Mammoth White 
Pearl, Mammoth Golden Yellow, Hogue's Yellow Dent, Riley's Favorite, Golden 
Eagle, Pride of the North, Boone County White, Silver Mine, Johnson's White, 
St. Charles' White, Bloody Butcher, Chase's White Dent, Golden Row, and 
Calico. 

Other than sugar corn, the sugar yielding varieties of corn are, — sugarcane, 
bearing crystallizable sugar; and common sorghum, bearing uncrystallizable 
sugar. The non-saccharine sorghums are: Kaffir corn of South Africa, Millet 
of China and India, Milo-maize, Guinea corn and Broom corn. 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 11 

Kaffir Corn. — Kaffir corn is a native of South Africa. It takes its name from 
the African tribe known as Kaffirs. It was introduced into the U. S. 20 years 
ago by the United States Department of Agriculture. It was first sent to the 
Southern states where it did well, and the following year was distributed in 
the North where it has done well. It has proved to be a valuable stock food in 
Nebraska and its cultivation is rapidly increasing. Its drought resisting quali- 
ties make it especially valuable to farmers living in dry localities. 

There are many varieties of kaffir corn. The three principal varieties grown 
in this country are: — Red kaffir corn; White kaffir corn; and a variety which 
goes by the three names: Black-hulled White Kaffir Corn; White Kaffir Corn, 
and African Millet. Each of the contestants who exhibited at the 1905 Ne- 
braska Corn Contest was furnished a seed package of the last named variety of 
Kaffir corn for planting this season. 

Indian corn is generally regarded as the standard feed for pigs in this coun- 
try. In regions where there is not sufficient moisture for Indian corn, Kaffir 
corn is a very valuable substitute. For a period of eleven years, the average 
yield at the Kansas Experiment Station has been: Kaffir corn, 46 bushels; In- 
dian corn 34% bushels per acre. Pigs tire of kaffir corn when it is fed alone 
more quickly than they do of Indian corn, but do not tire of it when fed with 
alfalfa, soy beans, or skimmed milk. Experiments at this station also show 
that Kaffir corn, when combined as above mentioned, compares well in results 
with Indian corn in the development of the pig and in fattening him for market. 
A Kansas farmer is credited with saying: "Kaffir corn waits for the farmer." 
The seeds ripen early but the stalks and leaves remain green until frost comes. 
This is one reason why kaffir corn is a favorite forage crop. 



CORN AS A FOOD. 

God's gift to the New World's great need 

That helped to build the nation's strength, 

Up thru beginnings rude to lead 
A higher race of men at length. 

— Thaxter. 

Corn has played a very important part in the development of the New World. 
The methods of planting and cultivation were so simple that early settlers 
could grow corn in the clearings made in the forests; they could grow corn in 
their patches of cultivated land on the plains; and the ears of corn were easily 
harvested and stored for winter's use. Corn yields with little labor more than 
twice as much food per acre as many other kinds of grain. 

The value of Indian corn, to man, in furnishing a great variety of food prod- 
ucts for himself, and in supplying his domestic animals with food, is now so 
well recognized that the study of maize has become one of great interest and 
importance. The early American settlers learned from the natives their crude 
methods of raising corn and the best ways of making use of it. 

The early Spaniards found the native Mexicans using Indian corn by first 
soaking the whole kernels in hot water, adding a little lime to soften the hulls, 
then cleaning and crushing the grains until they were made into paste. This 
paste was spread in thin layers over heated stones and when cooked became 
the corn cakes which the Spaniards called "tortillas," which is yet a popular 
food in Mexico. 



12 THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 

The Indians of southeastern United States, who generally preferred the blue 
variety of corn, ground the corn into a meal by the use of a stone mortar, made 
a thin batter by mixing it with water, and then baked it on a hard slab of iron 
or stone, making large thin sheets of bread which the Moqui Indians called 
"guagava." Other manners of cooking corn are followed by Indians of other 
tribes. From these various methods we have the "Ash-cake," the "Hoe-cake," 
and "Corn-pone," so much used and written of in the southern states. 

The early American pioneers adopted some of the methods of the Indians in 
preparing corn for food and retained the Indian names for some of the dishes 
thus prepared. The mixture of green corn with beans which the Indians called 
"msickquatash" is known now as "succotash." The Indian word for what is 
now our hominy was "auhuminea." Roger Williams tells of the native Indian 
"Nasuamp," a sort of meal, powdered, which the colonists called "samp." 
Benjamin Franklin tells of a custom borrowed from the Indians who parched 
a certain kind of corn until the grains would "burst and throw out a sort of 
white substance of twice its bigness." We may quite correctly guess that this 
must have been what is now known as pop corn. 

Corn Products. — Altho the chief value of corn is as food for man and do- 
mestic animals, it is used in the preparation of more than one hundred dif- 
ferent articles. First, the entire plant is used either as it comes from the field 
or as prepared in various ways to minimize waste. The fibers are woven into 
fabrics and the leaves, husks, and stalks are used in making paper. The husks 
are valuable in making coarser articles, for stuffing mattresses, and for pack- 
ing. The pith is used in making gun cotton and other high explosives, and is 
also used in the construction of war vessels where compressed blocks of it 
are placed behind the outer armor plate to absorb the water and close the 
aperture in case the plate is pierced by a projectile. The cobs are often ground 
up for feed, are used for fuel, and in the manufacture of tobacco pipes. In a 
few counties in Missouri a variety of corn with a very large cob is grown espe- 
cially to supply the trade in corn-cob pipes. 

Corn starch, so much used in this country, also laundry starch, is made 
largely from the kernels of maize. The starch from corn is also turned into 
sugar and used in the manufacture of candy. Whisky and alcohol are made 
extensively from corn. 

In manufacturing the various principal substances a number of "by-products" 
are obtained. Gluten meal and gluten feed, made from the starch of the corn 
kernel, are used largely as feeding stuff for farm animals. Gluten feed is the 
entire residue of the kernel, including the germs and hulls. Gluten meal, 
cream gluten, and similar material, sold under various names, do not contain 
the corn hulls. Gluten meal and feed are very digestible animal foods and are 
valuable, especially for dairy cows and for fattening cattle and hogs. 

Maize oil, or "corn oil," is obtained from the germ which is extracted from 
the kernel in the manufacture of starch and glucose. This is a light, clear, 
amber colored fluid, used for culinary, mechanical and lighting purposes. It is 
also used in the manufacture of soap and as a substitute for rubber. 

The leaves, tassel, and stalk of the corn plant constitute what is known as 
"forage," "stover," or sometimes commonly designated with other hay foods 
as "roughness." The stalks, after the leaves and pith have been removed, are 
known as "corn shives." 

Various kinds of breakfast foods are made from corn. Glucose or corn sirup 
is a common product, and the many forms of cracked and crushed corn, as 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 13 

hominy and the different varieties of meals, are well known. The finest white 
corn flour is made by grinding the grain after the germ and some of the outer 
envelope have been removed from the kernel. Altho often stated to the oppo- 
site, there is no marked difference in the feeding value of white and yellow 
corn, or of dent corn and flint corn. 

Corn is the most general feed for pigs in the United States. A bushel, when 
fed alone, will produce, on an average, eleven pounds of pork. Corn ranks high 
in comparison with other cereal grains as a food for man. Corn meal, made 
into corn bread, mush, and other foods, is one of our most wholesome and nu- 
tritious foods. 

Green sweet corn, either fresh, canned, evaporated, or dried, is a favorite 
food. Our best canned corn is grown in New York and Maine, altho Illinois, 
Nebraska, and Kansas can large quantities. 

It is expected that the new law, which removed the tax from "denatured" 
alcohol, will result in an increased consumption for three Nebraska products. 
These products are corn, potatoes, and sugar beets; the three farm products 
which can be used with greatest profit in producing denatured alcohol. 

One writer estimates that an acre of corn — 50 bushels — will furnish 130 
gallons of absolute alcohol; tbat the corn stalks, which contain large quantities 
of sugar and starch, if harvested before they dry out, will produce 100 gallons 
of commercial alcohol per acre. 

Dr. Wiley states that the fermentable material in the corn stalk can be re- 
moved by the presses now used to extract the juice of sugar cane. He also 
states that twenty times more power can be obtained by burning the alcohol 
which exists in corn than in burning the corn itself. 

It is estimated that the by-products of corn after the industrial alcohol has 
been extracted, would pay the cost of distillation. At the time of this writing, 
September 20, some Eastern capitalists are considering the erection of a de- 
natured alcohol plant at Lincoln at a cost of $350,000. 

STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION. 

1. The corn kernel is made up of tbe following parts: The germ, located in 
the depression of the upper side of the kernel containing the young plant or 
embryo, the central loose white floury starch surrounding the germ and ex- 
tending to the crown in dent varieties, the hard horny starch on the lower side 
and along the edges and the hull or covering of the entire grain. 

2. Corn contains the following substances in about the given amounts when 
analyzed chemically: 

Grain Stover 

Water 10. 40. 

Protein 10.5 4. 

Nitrogen Free Extract (Starch) 70. 32. 

Crude Fiber 2. 20. 

Ether Extract (Fats) 5. 1. 

Ash 1.5 3. 

3. Stalks vary from two to twenty feet in height. 

4. Cobs vary from one to eighteen inches in length and may have from six 
to forty rows of kernels. 

5. The stalk is solid with a pithy fibrous interior and a hard casing outside. 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 15 

6. The female part of the flower grows on the side of the stalk (the ear) 
while the male part grows on top (the tassel). 

7. The ovaries or grains grow in pairs so there is always an even number 
of rows on the cob. 

8. Each kernel must be fertilized in order to produce a grain. 

9. The pollen is carried from the tassel to the silks which protrude from the 
outer end of the ear. 

10. There is a silk for each kernel. 

11. The pollen finds lodgment at the end of the silk and grows down the 
hollow tube of the silk until it reaches the rudimentary kernel before fertiliza- 
tion takes place. 

12. Silks do not all come out at the same time, hence it takes several days 
for corn to become completely fertilized. 

SEED CORN 

Selection. — The judicious selection of seed increases the yield of corn per 
acre by increasing the amount of corn on the ear. A cylindrical ear bears more 
corn than a tapering ear. A tapering ear may decrease the corn on the ear 
from five to ten per cent. A rough ear with deep kernels produces the great- 
est yield of corn. A smooth kernel is usually shallow. A deep rough kernel 
goes with late maturity, therefore cannot be used in a region having a short 
growing season. A tapering tip with shallow kernels is a sign of degeneration. 
The shank should be smooth but large enough that there will be no danger of 
the ear blowing off. The shape of the kernels should be such that they fit 
snugly from tip to crown. Square, round, or too pointed kernels cannot be 
fitted on round cobs. It is impossible to make a machine drop the same num- 
ber of kernels per hill unless the grains are uniform in size. In order to secure 
nearly uniform kernels for planting it is necessary to either screen the corn 
or sort the ears according to size of kernels. 

Corn must be acclimated before it can give its maximum yield. Well bred 
corn from a distance may not yield well at first, but pure bred seed corn, if of 
the right type, will prove better in the end than scrub corn. It is important 
to get the type or variety of corn adapted to the soil and climate. No one 
variety of corn is best suited to all parts of the state. There is no need of a 
variety of corn "running out." "Running out" is due to careless seed selec- 
tion, deteriorating soil, or poor cultivation. Remember that the largest ear is 
not always the best seed ear. Select seed in the fall before freezing weather. 
Seed corn suffers great damage by being frozen while containing considerable 
moisture — as it usually does when first taken from the field. Keep seed corn 
in a dry, well ventilated room where it can be well dried before freezing. 

Other things being equal, home-grown seed is to be preferred to that grown 
in another locality and under different environment. 

The best plan is to have a special seed corn field which has been planted 
with selected ears and select the best ears from this field. 

Another plan, but not so good, is to go through the field before the general 
harvest and select ears from good healthy stalks, bearing in mind the stand- 
ard of the variety you are growing.- 

Select ears of good average size in length and diameter, sound and vigorous 
and well filled at butt and tip. Stalk, medium size. Kernels should be close 
and even. Cob should be firm and rigid. 




rt uin 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



17 



All good seed should be tested as to vitality before planting. It should test 
at least 95 per cent and germinate strongly. See score card and rules for 
judging corn. 

TESTING CORN FOR VITALITY 

Standard for Germination 90-95 per cent. 

Sampling. — The importance of making germination tests of corn cannot be 
emphasized too strongly, since seed corn will often have a fair outward appear- 
ance and yet germinate poorly. 

When the germinating power of corn is very low, and reliable seed is hard 
to select, it is often desirable to make germination tests of each ear separately. 

To do this, first number the ears by slipping a piece of cardboard containing 
the number between two rows. Then remove one grain from the butt, middle 
and tip of each ear. Then taking your germinator, as described below, mark 
off the blotting paper in the bottom into inch squares, numbering each. Now 
put the grains from each ear in their respective square, and allow to germi- 
nate. In this way several hundred ears may be tested at once. 

For testing a large lot of corn in the ear, select 100 ears at random and take 
one grain from each of these about two inches from the butt. More corn seems 
to germinate poorly near the butt than at any other point. Place seed in germ- 
inator. Germination should begin in about two days and be complete in six. 

For best results keep temperature as near 80° to 90° F. as possible, and 
never let it fall below 60° F. 




A YORK COUNTY CONTESTANT WHO GOT 
STAND" 



TOO GOOD A 



18 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



HOME MADE GERMINATOR 

One of the simplest and most practical germinators can be made by taking 
two common dinner plates, and placing in the bottom one, two or three lay- 
ers of filter paper, blotting paper or other absorbent and thoroly wetting it. 
Place the seeds to be tested on top of this. If the seeds are as large as corn 
or wheat you may cover them with blotting paper or a cloth, tho this is not 
necessary. Small seeds, such as clover or grass, do better if not covered. 

Now invert the second plate over the first, being careful that the edges touch 
evenly. This makes a moist chamber, and gives the most favorable conditions 
for germination. 

Similar moist chambers may be fixed up by using any shallow bucket or pan 
having a cover, or tin or wooden boxes may be used such as tobacco and cigar 
boxes, all of which, when used properly, will give satisfactory results. 



THICKNESS OF PLANTING CORN 

In 1903, and again in 1904, experiments were made at the Nebraska Expend 
ment Station farm to determine the effect of different rates of planting corn 
upon the yield of grain, size of ear, quality of the grain, number of barren 
stalks and suckers, and upon the yield of stover. The hills were placed forty- 
four inches apart each way. The following table shows the average results 
for two years: 



No. stalks 


Yield 


Average weight 


Good 


No. of ears 


No. o suckers 


per nill 


per acre 


of ears 


ears 


per 100 plants 


per 100 plants 




Bushels 


Ounces 


Per cent 






1 


55 


10.7 


64 


174 


198 


2 


68 


10.5 


68 


119 


76 


3 


78 


9.2 


55 


98 


25 


4 


78 


8. 


42 


82 


8 



In plantings made in 1903, the best yield came from the planting of four 
stalks to the hill, while in 1904 three stalks to the hill produced the most grain. 
The average for the two years for the plats containing three stalks to the hill 
and for the plats containing the four are the same, owing to the fact that the 
first year, being wet and a good corn season, favored the heavy planting, and 
1904, being dry, favored the lighter. The rate of planting that gives the best 
yield will vary according to soil and season. 

In Nebraska the rate of planting should be heaviest in the east, not less 
than three kernels per hill. The rate should gradually decrease westward, two 
grains per hill probably being sufficient for the best average results on the 
western edge of the corn belt. 

A few other results noted are: One stalk per hill produced the largest ears 
but the least number of bushels and produced a greater number of ears per 100 
plants, also a greater number of suckers and had the least number of barren 
stalks; four stalks and three stalks per hill, respectively, produced the larger 
ears, the larger percentage of good ears, a greater number of bearing stalks 
and also an increased number of suckers over the four stalks per hill planting. 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 19 

DEPTH OF PLANTING 

The Nebraska Experiment Station carried on experiments in 1904 relative 
to depth of planting. Corn was planted at depths of 1, 2, 3, and 4 inches. That 
planted at a depth of one and two inches came up readily, and gave a good 
stand, while only a small per cent of that planted four inches deep came up. 
The weather was quite cold and wet just after this planting, which doubtless 
caused a large per cent of the deep planted corn to rot. Whatever be the depth 
of planting, the main root system which develops at the base of the plant, 
branches out about three-fourths of an inch below the surface. This is the 
normal depth under average conditions, but planting should be deeper to se- 
cure moisture for the seed. Mr. Lyon concludes: "There is no object in 
planting corn at a greater depth than enough to insure germination; in fact, it 
is a positive detriment to plant deeper. Listing permits the roots to be deeply 
covered with soil, although the seed when dropped is not too deep." 

RELATION OF SIZE OF EAR TO YIELD 

In order to get the relation between the average size of ear and the yield 
per acre of the varieties of corn tested at the Nebraska Experiment Station 
farm, one hundred ears of each variety, taken as they came in the row, were 
weighed and measured. The interesting fact developed that the heaviest yield- 
ing varieties are of medium size. The average weight per ear of the five 
highest yielding varieties was .705 pounds. The most desirable size of ear 
varies according to locality, season, soil, climate and elevation. The best type 
of corn for western and central Nebraska should be a smaller ear type than 
for the eastern part of the state. 

TILLERS, OR "SUCKERS" 

Botanically, a tiller is simply a side branch arising from one of the lower 
nodes or joints of the corn plant. The early progenitor of corn was undoubt- 
edly a much branched plant with many ears. But through proper seed selec- 
tion and cultivation, the number of tillers has been gradually reduced. The 
development of the tiller varies according to the variety of corn, the rate of 
planting, fertility of the soil, relative moisture, climatic conditions and manner 
of cultivation. Listed corn usually develops fewer tillers. 

The young tillers are first attached to the main plant and draw their sub- 
sistence from it (hence the name "sucker"), but they soon develop their own 
roots and finally become independent plants, sometimes becoming entirely 
separated from the main plant. Experiments at the Nebraska State Experi- 
ment Station have shown that if the tillers are removed when the plants are 
from 20 to 25 inches high no more will develop. 

Value of Tillers. — Tillers thicken a deficient stand of corn and when well de- 
veloped produce ears. Experiments made in 1903 and 1904 at the Nebraska 
Experiment Station showed an average loss of 17 bushels per acre in the field 
where tillers were removed. These were years of plentiful rainfall. 

As many tillers start on corn planted thick, as on corn planted thin, but in 
thick planted corn they make only feeble growth and usually die and dry up 
later in the season. Mr. Lyon concludes that tillers "serve a purpose 
whenever the stand is thinner than the soil or season will support. In regions 
of sufficient rainfall it would not seem advisable to remove the tillers in the 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 21 

CORN BILL-BUGS AND THE CORN ROOT-LOUSE 

Corn bill-bugs and the corn root-louse have long been recognized as serious 
enemies of corn. Mr. S. A. Forbes, Illinois State Entymologist, found that in 
timothy fields badly infested with corn bill-bugs 50 to 75 per cent of the timothy 
bulbs were injured to some extent. He found that at least 33 per cent of hills 
of corn infested by these insects failed to form ears or filled out very imper- 
fectly. A test of the value of fall plowing in controlling these insects showed 
that the injury from the corn bill-bugs is due almost entirely to planting after 
timothy and spring plowing. 

The corn root-aphis is an insect which, like many other aphids, is cared for 
by certain special ants. The ants construct their nests in the soil and care for 
these insects the year round. In one experiment for exterminating them it 
was found that where the soil was disked three times and harrowed once the 
number of ants and aphids was reduced by 92 per cent. In one instance the 
insects were reduced 89 per cent by single treatment of the soil with the disk 
and harrow. It will be noted that the treatment most effective for the root- 
aphis in spring is in a great measure that which will be found most useful as 
a thorough preparation of the soil for corn. This method will not entirely 
eradicate the corn root-louse, but will reduce the numbers to such an extent 
that they will be of little injury to the crop. 

WIND IN THE CORN 

I love to lie in the prairie-grass 

As the sun's noon heat is born, 
And list to the lisp of the lashing leaves, 

As the wind blows through the corn. 
For the sound of the wind is soft and sweet 

As the sigh of a child in sleep; 
As soothing and calm as the drifting dark 

That falls from the bluey deep. 
It does not moan as it does in the pines, 

Nor wail as it does on the sea, 
But sings a song, faint, far, and low — 

A marvelous melody. 

— Will Reed Dunroy in "Tumble Weeds." 

SOME CORN STATISTICS 

Since corn is Nebraska's greatest and also favorite crop; exceeds in amount 
the sum of all other grain crops of the United States, and is produced in greater 
amount than any other product of the Western hemisphere; some facts relative 
to its production are of interest to us. Statistics are generally considered 
"dry" reading matter; but specific facts relative to matters in which we are 
much interested, when properly compared, become valuable information which 
appeals to us because of its relation to our environment. 

Hon. James Wilson in his report of 1905, the 9th annual report as the Secre- 
tary of Agriculture, says that corn, in 1905, reached its highest production, 
2,708,000,000 bushels being raised in the United States in the year 1905. This 
's 42,000,000 bushels more than raised in the year 1899, the next lower record. 



22 THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 

The total value of last year's crop is estimated at $1,216,000,000. Mr. Wilson 
adds, "No other crop is worth more than one-half as much." The statistics 
herein given for cereals, unless otherwise stated, are taken from the Year Book 
of the Department of Agriculture, 1905. 

Production. — Only "round" numbers are given except in a few cases. Total 
world production of corn, 1904, 3,105,000,000 bushels. Of this North America 
produced 2,578,000,000 bushels, of which the United States produced 2,467,- 
000,000 bushels. Last year (1905) the United States produced 2,708,000,000 
bushels, of which Nebraska produced nearly 263,000,000 bushels. This gives us 
proper reason for declaring that the United States is the "Corn Field of the 
World." 

Last year corn was raised on 93,000,000 acres in the United States. In Ne- 
braska 8,000,000 acres were planted to corn. (The Nebraska report shows 
6,472,487 acres. The state report for 1906 gives 6,840,905 acres planted to corn). 

The United States report gives the following rank of states in the number of 
acres planted to corn in the year 1905: Illinois, 9,607,000; Iowa, 8,767,000; Ne- 
braska, 8,035,000; Kansas, 6,977,000; Texas, 6,532,000; Missouri, 6,000,000; In- 
diana, 4,600,000; Georgia, 4,000,000; Kentucky, 3,195,000; Tennessee, 3,138,000. 
Wyoming is lowest with 2,107 acres. 

The Nebraska state report for 1906 shows that Lancaster county, with 243,- 
000 acres planted to corn, stands first. Custer county is second, with 232,000 
acres. Knox county is third with 224,000 acres. Gage is fourth with over 188,- 
000. Buffalo is fifth with 181,000. Then follow Saunders with 180,000; Otoe, 
143,000; Platte, 136,000; Dawson, nearly 132,000; and Harlan county is tenth 
with nearly 130,000 acres. Only one county, McPherson, reports no acreage 
planted to corn. Grant county has 42 acres, the lowest number. Kimball 
county, the second lowest, has 828 acres. Thomas county is third with 1,925 
acres. 

Total Yields. — In the amount of production, in 1905, the rank of the ten lead- 
ing states differ somewhat from that in acreage. It is as follows: Illinois, 
383,000,000 bushels; Iowa, 305,000,000; Nebraska, 263,000,000; Missouri, 
202,000,000; Kansas, 193,000,000; Indiana, 187,000,000; Texas, 139,000,000; Ohio, 
112,000,000; Kentucky, 95,000,000; Tennessee, 77,000,000; Wyoming raised only 
56,678 bushels; Georgia, which ranks eighth in the number of acres, produced 
only 47,000,000. This offers us a suggestion as to the relative results in corn 
raising as affected by climate, soil, and cultivation. 

Yield Per Acre. — The average yield per acre of corn raised in the United 
States in 1905 was 28.8 bushels. The highest yields per acre, by states, are as 
follows: Connecticut, 42.7 bushels; Indiana, 40.7; and Ohio, 37.8. The lowest 
yield per acre is in Florida, where the average yield was 10.1 bushels. South 
Carolina was next lowest with 10.9 bushels per acre; Georgia next, with 11 
bushels per acre. The average in Nebraska for 1905 was 32.8 bushels per acre 
(State Record, 37.65 bushels per acre). Our immediate neighboring states 
have the following average: Iowa, 34.8; Kansas, 27.7; South Dakota, 31.8; 
Colorado, 23.8; and Wyoming, 26.9. 

The entire corn crop of the world for the year 1904 was nearly three billion 
bushels. Last year the United States alone produced nearly 2,708,000,000 bush- 
els. Of this 70 per cent was contributed by eight states in the following order: 
Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Indiana, Texas, and Ohio. The 
average yield per acre in the United States last year was 28.8 bushels. In the 
eight states above mentioned the average was 33.6 bushels per acre. The 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 23 

largest yield of corn on record is 237 bushels per acre. This was grown in 
South Carolina. 

Value Per Acre. — The average value per acre of corn in the United States, 
based upon farm value, December 1, 1905, was $11.88 per acre. The highest 
values per acre by states are as follows: Connecticut, $30.32; Massachusetts, 
$26.25; New Hampshire, $25.53. These values continue to decrease in the dif- 
ferent states to $6.67 per acre in Florida. Georgia has the second lowest value, 
$7.70 per acre. The average value per acre in Nebraska was $10.50. Our 
neighbors ranked as follows: Kansas, $9.14; South Dakota, $9.86; Colorado, 
$11.19; Iowa, $11.83; Wyoming, $20.17. 

Farm Price Per Bushel. — The average farm price of corn per bushel in the 
United States, December 1, 1905, was $.288. The highest average prices at this 
time in the different states were as follows: Arizona, 97c; California, 76c; 
"Wyoming, 75c; South Carolina, 74c; Rhode Island, 71c; Georgia, 70c. 

The lowest value per bushel was in South Dakota, where it was 31c per 
bushel. In Nebraska the value was 32c per bushel, the same as in Oklahoma; 
in Kansas, 33c; Iowa, 34c; Missouri, 37c; Colorado, 47c. A comparison of 
these values per bushel will make a profitable study in commercial and indus- 
trial geography and in agriculture. 

Nebraska is the third state in the Union in the number of acres planted to 
corn and in the number of bushels produced, but the average price per bushel 
is lower in only one other state, South Dakota. The quality of Nebraska corn 
is good. Why this low price? Is it over-production, transportation facilities, 
distance from market, lack of local consumption as compared with other states, 
or — what? 

CULTIVATION FOR CORN 

The climate and the soils of Nebraska are so varied that proper specific in- 
structions as to methods of cultivation cannot here be given. A few general 
suggestions only are offered. The Nebraska corn grower should study well the 
soil and climate of his locality and then govern his selection of seed and his 
method of cultivation accordingly. The essential points to be observed in 
growing corn are good seed and good tillage. 

Conservation of Moisture. — To prevent undue loss of water by evaporation 
is one of the important objects of tillage in Nebraska. 

Movement of Soil Water. — Soil water has two principal movements: perco- 
lation, the soaking downward of water after rains; and capillary, the slow up- 
ward movement of water between rains, to supply that lost by evaporation or 
that taken up by growing plants. A loose open structure favors percolation, 
as it permits the water to run into the soil more readily. A close compact 
structure favors the upward capillary movement. 

What is desired, then, is a loose surface to catch and allow rain to soak in, 
and a compact sub-surface, so that there will be a strong upward movement to 
supply the roots of growing plants. The loose mulch will prevent water loss 
from the surface. 

Plowing. — Early summer plowing breaks up the compact surface and puts a 
loose surface layer at the top, which breaks the capillary upward movement of 
the soil water and thus checks evaporation. The loose plowed soil catches the 
rain better than a compact surface and thus gets more of the rainfall. The 
trash turned under also has a much better chance to rot and help render avail- 
able fertility. 



24 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



Fall plowing is sometimes an advantage. It prevents further evaporation of 
soil water and makes a roughened surface to catch winter snows and rains. 
But summer or fall plowing is not advised on soils liable to blow and drift, or 
on soils that become very loose during the winter, when fall plowed. 

Early spring plowing is one of the most effective ways of preventing evap- 
oration. Early plowing may be done deep as there will be no clods or lumps 
formed to bother and make the formation of a good seed bed difficult. Then 
there will be plenty of time for the sub-surface to become settled and compact. 
The later the plowing the shallower it should be as the time left to get the 
sub-surface compacted is very short. 

Cultivation. — Cultivation should be frequent enough to keep the soil mulch 
from compacting and becoming wet from the lower soil water brought upward 
by capillary movement. 

Cultivation should always follow a rain as soon thereafter as the ground is 
workable, to prevent the formation of a crust. Water moves more rapidly 
through a moist than through a dry soil. Consequently a rain, if not followed 
by cultivation, may actually cause a soil to lose water. 

The depth and frequency of cultivation should vary with the season. The 
deepest cultivation should be done at first because there are few roots to injure 
at this time and aeration is more needed. Evaporation is also less early in the 
season. Cultivation should become shallower and less frequent as the season 
progresses. It is desirable for the plant to develop as many of the surface 
feeding roots as possible. 

JUDGING CORN 

The productiveness of corn can be greatly increased by the selection of ears 
having certain desirable qualities for seed. The well known varieties of corn 
have been developed by years of careful selection of seed ears. The principle 
involved is that an ear of corn when planted reproduces more or less closely 
its own characteristics in the ' resulting ears. By selecting for seed, ears of 
uniform size, deep kernels and other desirable characters, we largely avoid the 
production of nubbins, shallow kernels and other objectionable points, and 
thus increase the yield. 

SCORE CARD FOR CORN. 

Variety name 





VALUE 


STUDENT'S 
SCORE 


CORRECTED 
SCORE 




10 
10 

5 
5 

10 

5 

5 

10 

10 

5 

10 

15 
















































Shape of kernels 






Space between kernels 

Proportion of corn on ear . . 










Weight of grain 







Student's name. 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK ?S 

RULES FOR JUDGING EXHIBITS OF CORN 

Uniformity of Exhibit. — The ears in an exhibit should be similar in size, 
shape, color and indentation. In other words, each ear should look as much as 
possible like every other ear. In considering this point the judge is not called 
upon to decide as to the desirability of the characters possessed by the different 
ears, but solely as to their similarity. 

The judge places the ten ears side by side on a table or bench with the butts 
toward him. He then, by removing one ear and replacing it by another, sorts 
over the exhibit until he has the similar ears lying side by side. If there are 
six similar ears of one type and four of another, he credits the exhibit with 
six similar ears, even should these not be so desirable as those of the other 
type. For each ear deficient in these respects, cut the exhibit one point. 

Shape of Ears. — Leaving the exhibit arranged as before, count the number 
of ears that are cylindrical or nearly so. Cut the exhibit one point for each 
ear deviating from this requirement. 




MAP SHOWING SEC- 
TIONS INTO WHICH 
THESTATE IS DIVIDED 
FOR MAKING VARIETY 
TESTS OF CORN. 



Reid's Yellow Dent seed corn was furnished to contestants in districts 1, 2, 3 and 4, 
Learning's Yellow Dent, to contestants in districts 5 and 6. 

Color of Cob. — The cobs should be uniformly red or uniformly white. For 
each white cob in an exhibit in which the red predominate, cut the exhibit one- 
half point. Do the same for each red cob in an exhibit of white cobs. 

Color of Kernels. — A yellow kernel on a white ear or a white kernel on a 
yellow ear shows that the corn has been fertilized by pollen from corn of an- 
other color. In other words, it shows that the variety is not strictly pure. For 
each white crowned kernel in a yellow or red variety, cut the exhibit one-tenth 
point. For each yellow kernel in a white variety, give the same cut. 

Market Condition. — The corn should be well matured, firm and sound. For 
each ear deficient in these respects, cut the exhibit one point. 

Tips of Ears. — The tips of the ears should be covered with regular, uniform 
kernels. Add together the lengths of protruding cobs on all ears of the exhibit, 
and cut at the rate of one-half point for each inch. 

Butts of Ears.— As the ideal ear is cylindrical in shape, the butt should be 
uniform in diameter with the rest of the ear. It should be well rounded and 
symmetrical. The rows of kernels should be even and swell out evenly beyond 




bi 


"S 




3 


rt 


a 


O 


c 






S-. 


Ih 




<D 


o 


1) 


O 


H 


s 


«-M 


J3 


a 


o 


o 


o 


o 


_>. 


Si 




u 




c 






2 


1> 


rt >+-i 






u 


o 


-5 


T3 






t- 


3J 


■— 


3 


bfl 


en 




u 




u 






bfl 


In 


03 




C 


o 


£ 


<u 


u 


5 


^ 


s 




In 




rt 


a 


o 




This illustration represents ears of various types. No. 7 is the best. A carload, 
or 800 bushels, of ears like No. 1 would yield but 728 bushels shelled, while a car- 
load of ears like No. 2 would yield 893 bushels shelled. No. 3 does not shell out 
well. No. 4 is preferable to No. 5, because no space is wasted. No. 6 is undesirable 
because of the light, chaffy nature of the kernels. No. 8 has irregularly shaped 
kernels, which waste space and do not work well in a planter. No. 9 is less desir- 
able than ears of the cylindrical shape, because the small point makes it necessary 
for some of the rows to drop out or the kernels to become smaller. 




28 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



the end of the cob Cut the exhibit one-half point for each poorly filled butt, 
and one-fourth point for each flat butt. 

Uniformity of Kernels. — The kernels should possess similar characters. Cut 
the exhibit one-half point for each deficient ear. 

Shape of Kernels. — In general, the shape of the kernel should be that of a 
wedge, as this shape permits the greatest amount of corn on the cob. The 
kernels should be of such shape that they fit snugly from tip to crown. The 
length and indentation of the kernels should also be noted. A deep indentation 
generally goes with a deep grain. The kernels should have a wedge shape on 
the broad side, and on the narrow side the edges should be parallel. Cut one 
point each for each objectionable ear. 

Space Between Kernels. — The rows of kernels should not be more than one- 
thirty-second of an inch apart at any part of the row. If more than one-six- 
teenth of an inch apart, cut one-half point, if less than that but more than one- 
thirty-second, cut one-fourth point for each ear. 

Proportion of Corn on Ear. — The proportion of corn on the ear should not be 
less than 85 per cent. For every per cent below eighty-five, cut the exhibit one 
point. 

Weight of Grain. — The weight of grain on an average ear should come up to 
the following requirements: 

Length of ear 12 inches and over; weight of grain 17 ounces. 

Length of ear 11 to 12 inches; weight of grain 15 ounces. 

Length of ear 10 to 11 inches; weight of grain 14 ounces. 

Length of ear 9 to 10 inches; weight of grain 13 ounces. 

Length of ear 8 to 9 inches; weight of grain 11.5 ounces. 

Length of ear 7 to 8 inches; weight of grain 9.5 ounces. 

Length of ear 6 to 7 inches; weight of grain 8 ounces. 

For each ounce below the number required by an ear of given length, cut 
the exhibit one point. 




Section of corn exhibit in Agricultural Hall, 1905 Corn Contest 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



29 



DIRECTIONS TO CONTESTANTS 
CORN EXHIBIT 

Each contestant in Classes A and B (see "Classes in the Corn Exhibit") will 
exhibit ten ears of corn raised from the seed corn which was furnished him. 
The contestant should carefully select the ten ears which will score highest 
according to the score card and directions given herein. The largest ten ears 
are not always the best ten seed ears. 

1. Place the good ears raised from your prize seed corn on a board or table 
with the tips all pointing one way. 

2. Select the most nearly perfect ear you can find, — the ear which is nearest 
the ideal type. 

3. With this ear in your left hand, go over all the ears of corn upon the table. 
Discard those showing too great a variation from your type ear in size, length, 
shape, roughness, form of kernel, etc. 

4. From the score card and the directions given, score your exhibit (see 
score card and rules for judging). Then see, if by exchanging any ears in the 
ten you have selected, with the ears not selected, ycu may raise the percentage 
of the score. 

5. When your ten ears have been finally selected, put them in the best pos- 
sible appearance. Remove all husks, silks, and the shank, but do not mutilate 
the ear itself in any way. Do not remove any bad kernels. The ears should 
be handled carefully that no kernels be knocked off. In judging, missing ker- 
nels are regarded as mixed kernels or bad kernels and the usual cut is made 
in the scoring. 




A YOUNG DODGE COUNTY CONTESTANT WHO RAISED GOOD CORN LAST YEAR 



30 THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 

WRITTEN REPORT 

6. Each ear should be carefully wrapped in paper or other protection and 
firmly packed. 

7. Each contestant is expected to exhibit with his ten ears of corn a neatly 
written, well arranged report, covering the points noted below. This account 
will be considered by the judges in awarding prizes. The merit of the written 
report will be judged, — not by the success of the contestant in corn growing — 
but by the completeness of the report and the care exercised in making it. The 
contestant having least success with his corn may make as good a report of 
his experience as contestants who are more successful with their corn. 



OUTLINE FOR WRITTEN REPORT 

1. Kind of soil in which seed was planted. 

2. Location — field, garden, level, slope or hill, etc. 

3. Kind of crop raised on same ground last year. 

4. How ground was prepared for seed. 

5. Planting — date, depth, number of kernels per hill, distance apart of hills, 
number and length of rows. 

6. Cultivation — tools or machinery used, dates of cultivation, how cultivated, 
etc. 

7. Date crop was gathered; number of ears, number of pounds of husked corn. 

8. Expense in time, labor and money. 

a. Total number of hours of work by contestant 

b. Value per hour of contestant's work at 10c per hour $ 

c. Value of work by team of horses or other force required in 

raising corn (at 10c per hour for each horse) $ 

d. Amount of other expenses $ 

e. Total cost of crop $ 

f. Value of corn at market price , $ 

g. Amount of loss or gain $ 

9. State what difficulties, if any, were encountered with weather, disease, in- 
sects, squirrels or other pests, and results. 

10. Statement of what has been learned by contestant in raising this corn. 

11. Name, address, age, and school district of contestant. 

CLASSES IN THE CORN EXHIBIT 

Class A. Ten ears of corn and written report by contestants who received 
the 1,000 kernels of seed corn from the state manager. 

Class B. Ten ears of corn and written report by contestants who received 
seed corn from the county superintendent or other person acting as county 
manager. 

Class C. Ten ears of corn. This class includes all not included in classes 
A and B. It provides for exhibits of corn raised by any Nebraska boy regard- 
less of where he secured his seed corn. Open to any Nebraska boy not over 21 
years of age, the only condition being that he himself planted, cultivated, and 
harvested the corn. A written report of his work must accompany the exhibit 
of ten ears of corn. Boys desiring to enter Class C should write to the man- 
ager for a blank report and emt.rv card. 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 31 

DIVISIONS IN CLASS C 

Division 1. Best ten ears of corn of any variety. 

Division 2. Best ten ears of sweet corn. 

Division 3. Best ten ears of pop corn. 

Division 4. Best ten ears of squaw corn. 

Division 5. Best ten ears of kaffir corn. 

Division 6. Ten longest ears of corn of any variety. 

Division 7. Ten largest ears of corn of any variety. 

Division 8. Ten ears having greatest number of rows of kernels. 

Class D. Best ten ears of corn by boys in the "acre" contest. 
Note: See "Collective Exhibits," Class X. 

FREE BULLETINS 

Write to the "Department of Agriculture," Washington, D. C, for bulletins 
as follows: No. 199, "Corn Growing"; No. 229, "The Production of Good Seed 
Corn"; and to the "Agricultural Experiment Station," Lincoln, Nebraska, for 
bulletins as follows: No. 25, "Corn"; No. 54, "The Corn Crop"; No. 91, "Ex- 
periments with Corn." 

A BEAUTIFUL PLANT 

"How straight and tall and stately stand 
Its serried stalks upright and strong! 
How nobly are its outlines planned, 
What grace and charm to it belong! 
"What splendor in its rustling leaves! 
What richness in its close-set gold! 
What largess in its clustered sheaves, 
New every year, tho ages old!" 

— Celia Thaxter. 
Corn is used largely for ornamental purposes. The corn plant appears on 
certain coins, the United States dime bears the representation of a corn plant. 
Ears of Indian corn appear on some of the late five-cent pieces. Corn appears 
with wheat in the design of the Trans-Mississippi postage stamps issued in 
1898. 

OUR NATIONAL EMBLEM 

The National Grains' Convention at Portland, Oregon, last October enthusi- 
astically adopted corn as our national floral emblem. Edna Dean Proctor, au- 
thor of "Columbia's Emblem," the poem which appears below, in her letter in 
which she granted our associations the use of her poem in this publication, 
said: "Indigenous to America and peculiar to it — a part of all the tradition 
and history of the Western continent — pre-eminent in value and beauty — corn 
is our most distinguished plant and must be, — is our national floral emblem." 
In her poem, "Maize in Norway," account is given of a visit in "wildest Nor- 
way." among the peaks, "in a waste of gleaming snow," where the writer saw 
one "August morn" a "cluster of Indian corn" and when she asked the "blue* 



32 THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 

eyed gleaner," the maid with the "flaxen hair," why they planted "the tropic 
Maize," "when frost the harvest bans, and snows fall cold," and told her that, 

"... the stately Maize, the grain of the sun, 

Will never yield its gold," 
the maid answered: 

" Tis true that frost our harvest bans, 

But we plant the beautiful waving Maize, 

To please the Americans." 

COLUMBIA'S EMBLEM 

Blazon Columbia's emblem, 

The bounteous, golden Corn. 
Eons ago, of the great sun's glow 

And the joy of the earth, 'twas born. 
From Superior's shore to Chili, 

From the ocean of dawn to the west, 
With its banners of green and silken sheen 

It sprang at the sun's behest; 
And by dew and shower, from its natal hour, 

With honey and wine 'twas fed, 
Till on slope and plain the gods were fain 

To share the feast outspread: 
For the rarest boon to the land they loved 

Was the Corn so rich and fair, 
Nor star nor breeze o'er the farthest seas 

Could find its like elsewhere. 

In their holiest temples the Incas 

Offered the heaven-sent Maize — ■ 
Grains wrought of gold, in a silver fold, 

For the sun's enraptured gaze; 
And its harvest came to the wandering tribes 

As the god's own gift and seal, 
And Montezuma's festal bread 

Was made of its sacred meal. 
Narrow their cherished fields; but ours 

Are broad as the continent's breast, 
And, lavish as leaves, the rustling sheaves 

Bring plenty and joy and rest; 
For they strew the plains and crowd the wains 

When the reapers meet at morn, 
Till blithe cheers ring and west winds sing 

A song for the garnered Corn. 

The rose may bloom for England, 

The lily for France unfold; 
Ireland may honor the shamrock, 

Scotland her thistle bold; 
But the shield of the great Republic, 

The glory of the West, 
Shall bear a stalk of the tasseled Corn — 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



33 




34 THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 

The arbutus and the goldenrod 

The heart of the North may cheer, 
And the mountain laurel for Maryland 

Its royal clusters rear, 
And jasmine and magnolia 

The crest of the South adorn; 
But the wide Republic's emblem 

Is the bounteous, golden Corn. 

— Edna Dean Proctor. 
From "Songs of America." 
By courtesy of 
Houghton, Mifflin & Co. 



"MAIZE, THE NATION'S EMBLEM" 

"America, from thy broad breast 

It sprang, beneficent and bright, 
Of all thy gifts from heaven the best, 
For the world's succor and delight. 
"Then do it honor, give it praise! 

A noble emblem should be ours; 
Upon thy fair shield set thy Maize, ! 

More glorious than a myriad of flowers. 
"And let thy states their garland bring, 
Each its own lovely blossom-sign, 
But leading all let Maize be king, 
Holding its place by right divine." 

— Celia Thaxter. 

THE ROYAL CORN. 

(Speech of ex-Governor Richard Oglesby before the Fellowship Club, Chicago, 
September 9, on the occasion of the Harvest Home Festival.) 

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen: The corn, the corn, the corn, that in its first 
beginning and its growth has furnished aptest illustration of the tragic an- 
nouncement of the chiefest hope of man. If he die he shall surely live again. 
Planted in the friendly but sombre bosom of the Mother Earth it dies. Yea, it 
dies the second death, surrendering up each trace of form and earthly shape 
until the outward tide is stopped by the reacting vital germ which, breaking all 
the bonds and cerements of its sad decline, comes bounding, laughing into life 
and light, the fittest of all the symbols that make certain promise of the fate 
of man. And so it died and then it lived again. And so my people died. By 
some unknown, uncertain and unfriendly fate, I found myself making my first 
journey into life from conditions as lowly as those surrounding that awaken- 
ing, dying, living, infant germ. It was in those days when I, a simple boy, had 
wandered from Indiana to Springfield, that I there met the father of this good 
man (Joseph Jefferson) whose kind and gentle words to me were as water to a 
thirsty soul, as the shadow of a rock to weary man. I loved his father then, I 
love the son now. 

Two full generations have been taught by his gentleness and smiles, and 
tears have quickly answered to the command of his artistic mind. Long may 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 35 

he live to make us laugh and cry, and cry and laugh by turns as he may choose 
to move us. 

But now again my mind turns to the glorious corn. See it! Look on its 
ripening, waving field! See how it wears a crown, prouder than monarch ever 
wore, sometimes jauntily; and sometimes alter the storm the dignified sur- 
vivors of the tempest seem to view a field of slaughter and to pily a fallen foe. 
And see the pendant caskets of the cornfield filled with the wine of life, and 
see the silken fringes that set a form for fashion and for art. And now the 
evening comes and something of a time to rest and listen. The scudding clouds 
conceal the half and then reveal the whole of the moonlit beauty of the night, 
and then the gentle winds make heavenly harmonies on a thousand-thousand 
harps that hang upon the borders and the edges and the middle of the field of 
ripening corn, until my very heart seems to beat responsive to the rising and 
the falling of the long melodious refrain. The melancholy clouds sometimes 
make shadows on the field and hide its aureate wealth, and now they move, 
and slowly into sight there comes the golden glow of promise for an industrious 
land. Glorious corn, that more than all the sisters of the field wears tropic 
garments. Nor on the shores of Nilus or of Ind does nature dress her forms 
more splendidly. My God! to live again that time when for me half the world 
was good and the other half unknown! And now again, the corn, that in its 
kernel holds the strength that shall (in the body of the man refreshed) subdue 
the forest and compel response from every stubborn field, or, shining in the eye 
of beauty make blossoms of her cheeks and jewels of her lips and thus make 
for man the greatest inspiration to well-doing, the hope of companionship of 
that sacred, warm and well-embodied soul, a woman. 

Aye, the corn, the Royal Corn, within whose yellow heart there is of health 
and strength for all the nations. The corn triumphant, that with the aid of 
man hath made victorious procession across the tufted plain and laid founda- 
tion for the social excellence that is and is to be. This glorious plant, trans- 
muted by the alchemy of God, sustains the warrior in battle, the poet in song, 
and strengthens everywhere the thousand arms that work the purposes of life. 
Oh that I had the voice of song, or skill to translate into tones the harmonies, 
the symphonies and oratorios that roll across my soul, when standing some- 
times by day and sometimes by night upon the borders of this verdant sea, I 
note a world of promise, and then before one-half the year is gone I view its 
full fruition, and see its heaped gold await the need of man. Majestic, fruitful 
wondrous plant! Thou greatest among the manifestations of the wisdom and 
love of God, that may be seen in all the fields or upon the hillsides or in the 
valleys! 

WHEAT 

And the prairies are clad lor many a mile — 

With the tossing plumes of corn, 
And the fields of wheat wave like a sea 

Of green, on a summer morn — 
In Nebraska, the land of corn. 

— Dunroy. 
Mr. Sargent designates wheat as the "King of Cereals." This is because of 
its extensive cultivation throughout the world and because it holds the fore- 
most place as a food among civilized people, who recognize in it "the staff of 
life." 



36 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 




THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 37 

History. — It is supposed that wheat first grew wild in the region of Mesopo- 
tamia and that it was first cultivated in the valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates 
rivers. The people who lived in Egypt in the valley of the Nile river more 
than five thousand years ago, grew wheat. Wheat is found buried with mum- 
mies in tombs. From Egypt wheat was carried across the Mediterranean Sea 
to Greece and Rome. The Romans carried wheat all over Europe. It was in- 
troduced into England about two thousand years ago, and came to the United 
States a short time after the discovery of America by Columbus. The United 
States now produces more wheat than any other nation. 

Types of Wheat. — There are several different types of wheat which are clas- 
sified according to the appearance of the spikes and the seeds. There are two 
classes of wheat, — the winter wheat and the spring wheat, the appearance of 
which is quite similar, but the winter varieties must be planted in the fall and 
the spring varieties in the spring. The types most commonly grown in Ne- 
braska among the fall wheats are what are known as "Turkey Red," "Red 
Russian," the "Red Mediterranean" and a variety grown, especially in the 
southeastern part of the state, known as "May Wheat." The principal type 
of spring wheat grown in Nebraska is called "Velvet Chaff." 

"Macaroni" or Durum Wheat. — Durum wheat, or what is commonly known 
as "macaroni" wheat, is becoming a valuable spring wheat in Nebraska. Du- 
rum wheat was first introduced into the United States from South Russia in 
the spring of 1899. The next year some varieties were introduced from North 
Africa. Since that time the production of Macaroni wheat has rapidly in- 
creased. Last year (1905) the United States produced 20,000,000 bushels of 
this kind of wheat, which was raised mostly in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Kan- 
sas, Nebraska, Colorado, and in a few of the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast 
States. 

The Durum ("Macaroni") seed wheat supplied to our contestants this year 
will enable us to make a fair test of this variety in the western and northwest- 
ern parts of the state to which it is especially adapted. 

Wheat Bread. — "White" bread is always wheat bread. It is only from wheat 
that raised white bread can be made. This is due to the presence in wheat of 
"gluten." The Macaroni wheats contain a large amount of gluten which makes 
them valuable, especially in the manufacture of macaroni and other pastes. 
Macaroni wheat is very hard. For this reason most of the flouring mills now 
established in Nebraska are unable to properly grind it. Therefore Macaroni 
wheat is mostly exported. 

GRAHAM, ENTIRE WHEAT, AND STANDARD PATENT FLOUR 

Graham flour is simply wheat meal, that is, the entire grain ground to a pow- 
der. Graham flour is now commonly made by crushing and grinding the whole 
of the kernel without bolting or sifting. Such flour is coarse. To overcome 
this objection bolting is frequently resorted to. Much of the flour sold as Gra- 
ham has been thus treated. Such a product is not really Graham flour. 

Entire Wheat or Whole Wheat. — These terms suggest flour practically iden- 
ical with the Graham. Whole-wheat flour is not so coarse as Graham, nor so 
fine as the white flour. It is supposed to be made by removing the branny 
outer covering of the grain and grinding the remainder, — thus some of the 
outer portion of the wheat kernel is retained in the flour. But some of the 
so-called whole-wheat flour is not so ground, being made by mixing with the 



38 THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 

patent grades the middling and low grade flours with considerable of the ker- 
nel germ. 

Patent Flours. — The finer grades of patent flour contain neither the bran nor 
the germ of the wheat. In some of the lower grades the germ is retained. 
The germ is somewhat richer in protein than the remainder. It is for this rea- 
son that lower grade flours are considered more nutritious. The chief reason 
for removing the germ in milling the higher grades is that because of the 
presence of oil, which is more abundant in the germ than in the remainder of 
the wheat, flour in which it is retained has a tendency to become rancid (sour) 
and to deteriorate in bread-making properties. The bran is left out because 
of its coarse nature and because it darkens the flour. The grade of wheat flour 
most common is known as "white patent," "standard patent," or "family 
grade." 

THE NUTRITIVE VALUE OF WHEAT BREAD 

Bread contains from 35 to 40 per cent of water. Since the remainder, about 
60 per cent, is nutritive material, bread is one of the most nutritious of the 
common foods. Bread supplies a large amount of carbo hydrates, a moderate 
amount of protein, a small amount of mineral matter and almost no fat. 

Write to the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, for free bulletin 
No. 112, "Bread and Bread Making." 

WHEAT STATISTICS 

The total wheat crop of the world in 1905 was .three and a half billions of 
bushels. Of this the United States produced 693,000,000 bushels. In the year 
1905 Kansas, our leading state in the production of wheat, produced 77,000,000 
bushels. Other great wheat producing states in their order are, North Dakota, 
Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Indiana, and Washington. 

The total production of Nebraska for this year was 41,343,000 bushels. The 
leading counties in the production of fall wheat in their order are, Clay (1,796,- 
000), Hamilton, Kearney, York, Harlan, and Red Willow counties. In spring 
wheat for the year 1905, Lancaster county ranked first with 398,000 bushels, 
Sheridan second, and Cuming county third. The average farm value price per 
bushel in the United States December 1, 1905, was $.748 per bushel. The high- 
est average price per bushel in Nebraska was $.66; 1,852,085 acres were planted 
to winter and spring wheat in Nebraska this year. 

WHEAT EXHIBIT 

Each contestant who received the Durum (Macaroni) seed wheat last spring 
will exhibit a small sheaf of wheat, not to exceed four inches in diameter at 
the band, and one pint of threshed wheat, all grown from the wheat furnished. 
The sheaf of wheat should be carefully wrapt and cared for and neatly bound 
and trimmed so that it will make a good appearance in the contest. A written 
report telling of the experience of the contestant should accompany each 
exhibit. 

FREE BULLETINS 

Write to the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, for bulletin No. 
250, ^'Prevention of Wheat Srnut," and to Agricultural Experiment Station, Lin- 
coln, Nebraska, for bulletins Nos. 72 and 89, "Winter Wheat." 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 39 



OATS 



History. — The original home of oats is supposed to be in central and eastern 
Europe, possibly extending into western Asia. Oats are extensively cultivated 
in northern United States and in Canada. Oats are a favorite food in Iceland. 
The Scotch Highlander and his oat porridge are the very best of friends. The 
Scotch people depend very much for food upon the hulled kernel of oats, known 
as "grots." 

Oat Products. — Since good raised bread cannot be made from oats, the meal 
is generally cooked as a porridge, or baked in plain cakes. The "oatmeal," so 
much used in our country for food, corresponds to the Scotch "Grots" or 
"Grits." The straw of the oat plant is valuable as fodder for horses and cattle 
and for use in making paper and pasteboard. In southern states where the 
kernel of oats does not develop well, oats are sometimes grown and cut green 
for hay. Oats are called "the grain of hardiness" because it is the hardiest of 
grain plants and because it forms the main food supply of hardy northern 
people. 

Oats are a very valuable grain food for horses, especially during the spring, 
summer, and fall seasons, when horses are worked or driven hard. Oats are 
most valuable as an animal food when fed to growing animals and as a nour- 
ishing food, especially in warm weather when corn is not so desirable. 

Statistics. — In the year 1905, the total world production of oats was three and 
one-half billion bushels, of which the United States produced 953,000,000 bush- 
els. Illinois, our leading state, produced nearly 133,000,000 bushels. Iowa was 
second with 131,000,000 bushels. Nebraska produced fifty-eight and one-half 
million bushels. This year our state has 2,442,768 acres planted to oats. Knox 
county, with 93,858 acres, is the leading county. Madison and Boone counties 
rank next with over seventy-five thousand acres each. 

The "Kherson" oats imported eight years ago from Russia is proving a valu- 
able variety for Nebraska. "Swedish Select" oats are also a new variety re- 
cently introduced and tested with excellent results in Wisconsin and Montana. 
This variety is especially adapted to our northern states. The "sixty-day" oat, 
which was introduced from southwestern Russia four years ago, is now giving 
good results in the middle-western states. It is a much earlier variety than 
ordinary oats, and often escapes rust and other fungous and insect pests when 
other varieties are affected. Its early maturity also enables it to often escape 
a drouth. 

RYE 

On either side the river lie 

Vast fields of emerald nodding corn, 
And waving seas of wheat and rye. 

— From "The River Platte." Dunroy. 

History. — Rye has been called the "grain of poverty" because it will produce 
a crop where the soil is too poor or the climate too hot and dry for other ce- 
reals to do well, and because of its extensive use as the chief food of the pea- 
sant classes of the people of Europe and Asia and of poor people of our coun- 
try. Rye is supposed to have been cultivated first in southern Russia and 
Siberia, and from there to have been extended to Europe and then to America 
by the early settlers. 



40 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



The peasants of Germany and Russia make a dark colored, coarse bread of 
rye meal which is used extensively as a food. In Sweden rye is also a favorite 
food. In the United States wheat and maize are much more popular for bread 
making. Rye is used extensively in making whisky. 

Production and Products. — Rye grows well on wornout soils and is grown 
considerably as a green forage crop. The straw of the rye plant is extensively 
used for commercial purposes in making cheap straw hats and paper. In some 
places rye is raised more for the straw than for the grain. 

Statistics. — The total world crop of rye in 1905 was one and a half billion 
bushels. Of this the United States produced twenty-eight and a half million 
bushels. Pennsylvania, our leading state, produced nearly six million bushels. 
Wisconsin was second with nearly five million. Nebraska was third with two 
and one-quarter million bushels. The average yield per acre in the United 
States was 16.5 bushels. The highest average per acre was 25 bushels in Idaho; 
the lowest 7.7 in Georgia. The average in Nebraska was 18 bushels. The aver- 
age farm price December 1, 1905, in the United States was $.611; the highest 
price, $1.19 per bushel, was in South Carolina. The lowest price, 48c, was in 
Nebraska. Nebraska this year had 83,131 acres planted with rye. 




BARLEY 

History. — Southwestern Asia is thot to be the native country of barley. It 
was grown from very early times by ancient people who dwelt about the Med- 
iterranean sea. History tells us of the cultivation of barley among the Egyp- 
tians and Assyrians, the Greeks and other ancient people. It was used for a 
food more by the ancient people than at the present time. It was used prin- 
cipally for a food by the poor classes, instead of wheat. The ancient people 
believed that barley bread was especially strengthening to the body. They, 
therefore, used to feed their athletes on bread. This gave the name of "barley 
boys" to the Roman gladiators. For similar reasons the name "beef eaters" is 
applied to the yeoman of the royal guard in England, and is also sometimes ap- 
plied to football teams in America, the members of which during the training 
season, in perfecting themselves for football practice, eat a large amount of 
meat. Barley was also used in the ancient armies largely as a food for both 
man and beast. Mr. Sargent in his book, "Corn Plants," suggests that Ne- 
buchadnezzer's horses and Solomon's dromedaries were doubtless fed on 
barley. 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 41 

The Arabs fed their horses on unground barley and it is yet so used by the 
Berbers of North Africa, but barley does not make so good a feed for horses in 
general as do oats and other foods. 

"The Brewer's Grain." — Barley is now used very little as food. Its extensive 
use by brewers in making beer is the reason for its being known now as the 
"Brewers Grain." In preparation the kernels of barley are first soaked in 
water for a while and then spread out to sprout. As they germinate, the starch 
of the seed is turned into sugar. At the proper moment when the largest 
amount of sugar possible is present, the brewer heats the grain sufficiently to 
kill the germ. The grain thus sprouted is known as "malt." 

After the malt has been soaked and the sugar dissolved from it, yeast is 
added, which brings about fermentation in which the sugar is changed to al- 
cohol and carbon-dioxide gas. Barley is used principally by brewers in making 
malt because it germinates so readily and also, perhaps, because it grows best 
in some climates where other corn plants that might be used for this purpose 
will not grow well. Malt liquors other than beer are also made from barley. 
Were it not for the use of barley by brewers, only a very small amount would 
be raised in this country. Barley, therefore, has been transformed from a food- 
producing, life-sustaining grain to a grain used principally for producing intox- 
icating liquors. 

"Barley, once a food for man, 
Likewise, for his beast, 
Now has yielded in her 'malt' 

Virtues which succumb to 'yeast.' 
"No longer mankind's 'staff of life' 
Nor beast's — as 'n days of yore, 
Barley, now 'the brewer's grain,' 
Is a favorite food no more." 

Varieties. — Chevalier barley, one of the standard varieties in the United 
States, was introduced by the National Department of Agriculture about 1871. 
This variety, by being crossed with others, has given us some of our most 
valuable hybrid varieties. Manshury barley is the standard variety for our 
northwestern states. New Zealand barley is being introduced in Montana, 
where first tests have shown it adapted to that state. 

Statistics.— The United States produced 136 million bushels of barley last 
year out of a total world production of over one billion bushels. The average 
yield per acre in the United States, 1905, was 26.8 bushels; the average farm 
price $.403 per bushel. Minnesota with 29 million bushels is the leading state; 
California is second with 26 million. Nebraska produced nearly 2 million bush- 
els last year, an average yield of 27.5 bushels per acre. This year Nebraska 
has nearly 110 thousand acres planted to barley. Hitchcock county leads with 
16 thousand acres. Red Willow is second with over 13 thousand acres. 



RICE 

History. — Rice, "The Corn of the East," forms the chief food of the poor 
classes in China, Japan, and in many parts of India. It is also used extensively 
in nearly all other countries, especially in regions that have a hot, moist cli- 
mate. The native home of rice is southeastern Asia. It has been cultivated in 
eastern countries for more than four thousand years. In the United States rice 




a 


B 

c 


in 


■^ 


t/i 


cfl 


O 


hr 


P4 




! ) 


Ih 










OS 




w 


t/1 


> 


<u 


< 


X 


w 


cd 



O „ 






o S 



W B 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 43 

is grown principally in the low parts of the South Atlantic and Gulf States. 
Its yield in the United States is less than that of any other of the cereals 
mentioned. 

Varieties and Cultivation.— While rice is chiefly grown on lands that are low 
and easily irrigated, there are varieties which are grown on fertile uplands 
without irrigation. The principal varieties of lowland rice grown in the United 
States are "gold seed" rice, which has a golden yellow husk when ripe, and 
"white rice," the original rice introduced into this country in 1694. It resem- 
bles the rice commonly grown in China. The principal variety grown in Louis- 
iana is the Honduras. The Kiushu or Japan rice, which has a thick kernel and 
a thin hull, recently introduced in this country, is now being largely cultivated. 

Red rice, a wild variety, causes rice growers much annoyance and loss. A 
few red grains in milled rice lowers the grade and reduces the price. If red 
rice once gets a foothold in the field it increases rapidly and finally destroys 
the value of the crop. 

Reaping machines in harvesting are used very little except in prairie dis- 
tricts in Louisiana and Texas. This is because the ground is not sufficiently 
dry in harvest time to support heavy machinery. The sickle is the implement 
commonly used in harvesting rice. 

Statistics. — The commercial standard weight of "rough" rice is 45 pounds to 
the bushel. Rice is usually put up in sacks or barrels of 162 pounds each. 

The total world production of rice in the year 1904 was ninety-nine billion 
pounds. Of this the United States produced one billion one hundred sixty- 
three million pounds, which is only about one-half the amount consumed in the 
United States yearly. The chief rice-producing states are Texas, Louisiana, 
and South Carolina. Texas and Louisiana each produced more than six million 
bushels in the year 1905. 

The average yield of rice per acre in the United States in 1905 was 28.8 bush- 
els. Thirteen and one-half million bushels were raised in the United States last 
year. The average farm price December 1, 1905, was $.952. 

A remarkable example of the value of plant introduction, as carried on by 
our National Department of Agriculture, is illustrated in the introduction of 
the Japanese Kiushu rice. Since the introduction of this variety of Japanese 
rice the area devoted to this crop has increased from 210,396 acres in 1899 to 
610,700 acres in 1904, and has raised the value of land in the coast sections of 
Louisiana and Texas from between $1.00 and $2.50 per acre to from $35 to $50 
per acre. The output of cleaned rice has been increased from 180 million bush- 
els in 1899 to 549 million bushels in 1904. 

THE POTATO 

History. — The potato is a native of Chili, Peru and Mexico. Altho a native 
of America, it is widely known as the "Irish" potato because of its general use 
in Ireland. Potatoes constitute 13.7 per cent of the total food consumed by the- 
average American family. The potato was introduced into Virginia during the 
latter part of the sixteenth century. The colonists returning from Virginia 
took the potato with them to England. The Spanish had previously carried it 
to Europe. By the year 1722 it was a common article of food among the white 
people and among the Indians in Virginia. In Europe, with the exception of 
Ireland, potato growing made little progress until the middle of the eighteenth 
century. 



44 THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 

Adaption. — The potato is grown in every state and territory and on a great 
variety of soils. Yet the selection of the kind of soil best adapted is of im- 
portance if a good crop would be secured. The soil should be light enough that 
it offers no great resistance to the enlargement of the tubers, should be moist 
without being wet, and rich enough to furnish sufficient fertilizing ingredients. 
Well drained soil is preferable. Potatoes grown on sandy land are generally 
of a better quality than those grown on a stiffer soil. 

The soil considered best for growing potatoes is a deep, mellow, free-work- 
ing loam, grading either to a sandy or clay loam. Good potato soils are silicious, 
containing considerable organic matter. They are also reasonably rich in lime, 
magnesia and potash. The potato is largely dependent on the crops preceding 
it. Clover, cow-peas, and other leguminous plants are good. Corn after a sod 
is a good crop to precede potatoes. One year or at most two years is as long 
as a field should be devoted to continuous potato culture, altho potatoes are 
sometimes successfully grown more than two years in succession on the same 
land. 

A clean crop of potatoes, as a rule, cannot be grown on land which produced 
scabby potatoes the preceding year, as the germ of the disease remains until 
starved out by other crops. 

Selection of Seed. — The seed potato should be uniform and of a medium size. 
The skin should be netted or corky in appearance rather than smooth and clear. 
The presence of lenticels usually indicate normal growth and development in 
a healthy environment which promises good cooking quality. Potatoes with 
numerous deep eyes are objectionable because they carry much dirt, and the 
labor, time and waste in preparing them for cooking are much greater than 
with potatoes of even surface. The same objections apply to potatoes of non- 
uniform or irregular shape. Tubers having deep notches and quick curves in 
the surface are usually avoided, while those of oval, flat-round and elongated- 
oval shape are most desirable. 

Cutting of Seed. — Experiments indicate that it is more important to cut the 
tuber into compact pieces than to shape the pieces so as to have a definite num- 
ber of eyes on each set. No piece should be entirely devoid of eyes and the ma- 
jority of the seed pieces should be large enough to support two or three eyes. 
These cuttings are made by first cutting the potato into halves through its long 
axis and then crosswise, a little nearer the seed end than the stem end. 

Preparation of the Ground. — Potatoes require a deep seed bed, which is usu- 
ally prepared by deep plowing in the fall of the year. If this has been neg- 
lected until spring, cultivate the ground to be planted to potatoes as early as it 
is in right condition. Then plow the ground about six inches deep, following 
soon after with the harrow. 

Planting. — The furrows into which the seed potatoes are planted may be 
made with the lister. The furrows should be about four inches deep so that 
the seed pieces will be at least seven inches below the top of the ridges made 
by the cultivator in covering the potatoes. 

Tf the potato tubers are cut so that, each piece contains two or three eyes 
plant the cuttings about fifteen inches apart in the row; should they be single- 
eye pieces plant them about a foot apart. 

Cultivation. — About a week after planting the harrow should be run over the 
ground. This destroys the young weeds and causes other seed to germinate 
which may be killed by another harrowing a week later. The weeder is a very 
serviceable implement for holding the weeds in check and maintaining the 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



45 



mulch from the time the potatoes begin to appear until the potatoes are nine 
or ten inches high. The first cultivation should be from four to six inches deep. 
The subsequent cultivations, however, should be reduced to a depth of one or 
two inches. 

Combatting the Potato Bug. — The leaf should be treated with a poison as 
soon as the bugs hatch, because the younger the bugs the more easily are they 
destroyed. Various compounds are used — as Paris green, arsenate of lead, and 
others. The former is in common use. The whole of the plant should be cov- 
ered, because if badly sprayed the bugs live on the unsprayed foliage. The 
standard application is one-half pound of Paris green to fifty gallons of mix- 
ture. About fifty cents per acre should cover the cost of one application. 




HARVESTING POTATOES IN WESTERN NEBRASKA 



Harvesting. — The potatoes for storage should not be dug until the tubers 
have attained full size, the leaves have died, the tubers come freely from the 
stem and the skins are firm. They should be dug when dry, picked up at once, 
and kept cool. 

Storage. — Ventilation and temperature are the most important factors in 
storing potatoes. The potato must be kept cool. About 33 deg. F. is a favor- 
able temperature. The place in which the potatoes are stored must be con- 
structed so as to allow a complete circulation of air at all times. 

Potatoes intended for the table should not be exposed to strong light or be 
allowed to sprout. A poisonous substance called "solanin" sometimes develops 
when potatoes are allowed to sprout or have grown exposed to the sun or a 
strong light. 

Varieties. — Among the most widely grown varieties are Early Ohio, Early 
Rose, Beauty of Hebron, Triumph, Medium and Red Burbank, Rural New 
Yorker, No. 2 Empire State, Mammoth Pearl, White Star, and Dakota Red. In 



46 THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 

America and England the white mealy varieties are most popular. On the con- 
tinent of Europe the "Yellow Holland" is a favorite. The Early Ohio variety 
seems the most general favorite in Nebraska. The yellow potato generally has 
a richer flavor than the white and is most popular for use in salads, ragouts, 
hash, and for the fried potato, known as "pommes de terre soufflee," which is 
like a Saratoga chip except it puffs up like a little sack filled with air. 

Statistics. — Since Sir Walter Raleigh's discovery of the potato over three 
hundred years ago, its production has increased until the world now produces 
annually nearly four and one-half billion bushels of potatoes. The potato was 
the fourth crop in value in the United States for the year 1905. The total world 
crop of potatoes for 1904 was 4,297,000,000 bushels; of this the United States 
produced 330,000,000 bushels. The average yield per acre in the United States 
in 1905 was 87 bushels. The average farm price in the United States December 
1, 1905, was $.617. The value of the annual potato crop in the United States is 
nearly 100 million dollars. The average yield per acre in Nebraska, 1905, was 
93 bushels. The highest average price in any state December 1, 1905, was $1.20 
per bushel, in Georgia. The lowest average price in any state at this time was 
$.37, in Nebraska. Can you give a reason for this low price in Nebraska where 
potatoes of such excellent quality are raised? 

In 1905 Nebraska exported four times as many potatoes as in 1901. In 1904 
we had a surplus of 721,756 bushels of potatoes. The total number of acres 
planted to Irish potatoes in Nebraska in 1905 was 89,271. Of this Sheridan 
county had 5,518 acres and Box Butte 5,252 acres. The total yield, 1905, was 
9,819,810 bushels. 

A Paying Industry. — Potato growing is a profitable industry in many parts of 
Nebraska. Potatoes have yielded as high as six hundred bushels per acre in 
this state. The average yield for the United States, 1905, was 87 bushels per 
acre. The following quotation is from an article on "Growing and Marketing 
Poiatoes" by Mr. T. G. Ferguson: 

"It is a fact that an acre planted to potatoes will yield on an average fifteen 
times as much food material as will one acre upon which wheat, rye, or corn is 
grown. To show that this rule holds substantially true in this country, we 
might refer to numerous comparisons, one of which is as follows: A 160-acre 
farm, all of it of equal fertility, was planted half to potatoes and half to wheat 
and oats. The 80 acres planted to potatoes produced 27,500 bushels and sold 
for $17,500. Of the other SO acres, 65 were put to wheat and 15 to oats. There 
were produced 4,170 bushels of wheat and 1,532 bushels of oats, both worth 
$2,960. All received equal care and culture, yet the 80 acres planted to potatoes 
yielded five times the number of bushels and sold for six times the amount in 
cash that the 80 acres planted to grain did." 

The seed potatoes furnished our contestants this year are of the Early Ohio 
variety, grown in Minnesota in the Red River Valley. The potatoes were se- 
cured and furnished to contestants by Mr. T. G. Ferguson of Beaver Crossing, 
Nebraska. 

THE POTATO EXHIBIT 

Class A. Each contestant will exhibit ten potatoes raised from the seed po- 
tatoes furnished by the manager last spring. The contestant should carefully 
select the ten potatoes which will score highest according to the following 
score card. A written report similar to that for the com exhibit should be sent 
with the exhibit. 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



47 



Class B. — The best ten potatoes raised by any boy or girl regardless of the 
source of securing seed, the only condition being that the potatoes were raised 
by the contestant. A written report should accompany the exhibit. 

Select your best ten potatoes, observing directions given on the score card. 
Wash them, wrap each potato separately in a piece of paper and pack so that 
they will not rub in transit to the contest. 



SCORE CARD FOR POTATOES 



Variety name. 



Uniformity of potatoes. — The potatoes should be similar 
in size, shape, and color 

Surface. — The surface of the potatoe should have, (1) a 
corky appearance and tou< h, ("J) network of lenticels, 
and (3) eyes that are not too deep and numerous 

Size. — The potatoes should not he too small. Not less 
than thr e and one-half inches long and weighing at 
least twelve ounces 

Shape. — The potatoes should have an oval, flat-round 
and elongated-oval shape 




SCORE 



Student's name. 



FREE BULLETINS 

Write to Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, for Bulletin No. 35, 
"Potato Culture." 



THE SUGAR BEET 

History. — In the year 1905 the United States produced more than 625,000 tons 
of beet and cane sugar. Of this nearly one-half was made from sugar beets. 
Colorado is the leading state in the sugar beet production. Our leading coun- 
ties in the production of beets last year were Lancaster, Dawson, Hitchcock, 
Hall, Scotts Bluff, Keith, and Dodge; 15,548 acres were planted to sugar beets 
in fifty-one counties. 

Until about 1850 nearly all sugar used in this country was produced in other 
countries. We are indebted to France and Germany for the development of the 
sugar beet industry. Margraf, a chemist of Berlin, first discovered in 1747 that 
beets contained crystallizable sugar similar to that of sugar cane. The first 
sugar beet manufactory was erected in 1891. At first only two or three per 
cent of sugar could be extracted from beets. By improvement in the culture 
of sugar beets, and by application of improved scientific methods in extracting 
sugar, the sugar beet of good quality now yields fifteen per cent of sugar, with 
some sugar beets ranking much higher. 



48 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



Production. — In addition to their sugar-producing value sugar beets make an 
excellent addition to food for cattle, sheep, and pigs. The varieties of beets 
that have been most widely tested and have given most satisfactory results in 
the United States are the "Kleinwanzlebener" and the "White Improved Vil- 
morin." The estimated production of sugar in the United States for 1906 is 
1,803,000,000 pounds, of which cane sugar contributed 766,000,000 pounds, and 
beet-sugar contributed 1,037,000,000 pounds. The estimated consumption of 
sugar west of the Mississippi river in 1900 was 1,434,000,000 pounds. It will 
thus be seen that we are providing by home production more than enough 
sugar for our people who live west of the Mississippi river. 

The total acreage of sugar beets in Nebraska last year was 15,548. Lincoln 
county is the leading county with 3,864 acres. Dawson county is second with 
2,688; Hitchcock county is third with 1,763 acres; Hall county fourth with 1,020 
acres; Scotts Bluff had 961 acres; Red Willow, 864 acres; Keith county 644 
acres; Dodge, 522 acres; Buffalo, 389 acres. 




BEET SUGAR FACTORY AT LEAVITT 



Beet-Sugar Factories. — Nebraska was the second state to produce sugar from 
beets. The first factory was established at Grand Island, in 1890, with a ca- 
pacity of 350 tons daily; a second factory was established at Norfolk in 1891, 
with a capacity of 350 tons. In 1899 a third factory was established at Leavitt, 
with a daily capacity of 500 tons. The factory at Norfolk was recently re- 
moved to Lamar, Colorado, on account of the possession by the owners of a 
tract of land along the Arkansas river which they wished to develop by a series 
of factories in Colorado. Several other places in Nebraska are being consid- 
ered as locations for sugar beet factories. Plans are under way for the estab- 
lishment of a plant this year at or near North Platte. McCook and Culbertson 
are favorably mentioned as desirable points of location. 

Cultivation. — A soil which is quite level, well drained and which will produce 
a good crop of corn, wheat, or potatoes will generally, under ordinary condi- 
tions and proper cultivation, produce a good crop of sugar beets. For sugar 
beets the soil should be especially well prepared and cultivated in order that 
the plants may receive proper nourishment and development. For a complete 
discussion on sugar-beet culture, send to Department of Agriculture, Washing- 
ton, D. C, for (free) "Report No. 82, Progress of the Beet-Sugar Industry in 
the United States." 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



49 



SUGAR BEET EXHIBIT 

Class A. — This class includes all contestants who received sugar beet seed 
last spring from the state or county managers. The contestants will exhibit 
the best three sugar beets with a written report of his or her work. 

Class B. — Three sugar beets raised by any Nebraska boy or girl without re- 
gard as to the source of securing seed. A written report should accompany the 
exhibit. 

DIRECTIONS TO CONTESTANTS 

The written report should contain the same general principles as given in 
the outline report on corn raising. The beets selected for exhibit should be 
carefully cleaned and cared for and properly packed to avoid bruising when 
sent or brot to the State Contest. 

FREE BULLETINS 

Write to the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. O, for Report No. 
82, "Progress of the Beet-Sugar Industry in the United States," and for bul- 
letins as follows: No. 52, "The Sugar-beet"; and to the Agricultural Experi- 
ment Station, Lincoln, Nebraska, for bulletins Nos. 27, 36, 44, 60, 73, and 81, 
which treat of the Sugar-beet. 




A GROUP OF DOMESTIC SCIENCE CLUB GIRLS 

Who entertained the state president at Bradshaw. Their "raffia" hats were all 

hand-made by the owners 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE 

The purpose of the organization of the Nebraska Girls Domestic Science As- 
sociation is to help the individual to become healthier, happier, and to do her 
part toward contributing to the making of a happy home; to help every girl to 
become a greater power for good in the intellectual and moral life of the com- 
munity in which she lives. 



50 THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 

House keeping is one of the essentials of home making. To be a good home 
maker should be the ambition of every girl. 

Nor need we power or splendour, 

Wide hall or lordly dome; 
The good, the true, the tender, 

These form the wealth of home. — Hale. 

The girl who learns the value of wholesome food, and how to prepare it; 
who appreciates the results of the application of the skilled hand in the mak- 
ing and care of wearing apparel; whose taste has been cultivated to the love 
of beauty in home adornment; whose heart has been touched and whose mind 
has been broadened by observation of the laws of nature in the culture of flow- 
ers and other plant life; whose mind has been cultivated, whose tastes and 
talents have been developed; she who has had this training, is prepared to un- 
dertake the responsibilities of home making. 

Our aim is toward individual development: Each girl is to become her own 
teacher in acquiring the skill and in appropriating the genuine enjoyment of 
successful effort. While we offer a few suggestions, we urge our members to 
original thought and action in experiment in cooking, needle-work, and the 
various branches of domestic science and art. 

To those who have almost reached womanhood's sphere and find themselves 
unskilled in domestic art and science, yet who appreciate the value of this at- 
tainment, also what it means to continue thru life thus unskilled and unfa- 
miliar with the many little duties that contribute toward making the home of 
happiness and contentment, we quote Shakespeare: 

"An unlessoned girl 
Unskilled, unpractised, 
Happy in this, she is not yet so old 
But she may learn." 

And as a kindly warning to those who are deceiving themselves with the 
supposition that personal beauty or ethical culture alone will always satisfy, 
we repeat the words of Cobbert: 

"Women, so amiable in themselves, are never so amiable as when they are 
useful; and as for beauty, though men may fall in love with girls at play, there 
is nothing to make them stand to their love like seeing them work." 

Many a girl who has been educated thru the high school, thru the college, 
and the university, returns to her home, welcome, it is true, and appreciated 
for her accomplishments, yet, because she must fail, from lack of earlier train- 
ing, to contribute her share in some of the simplest duties of the home, she is 
nevertheless a disappointment to the loved ones there. Not always, — but sel- 
dom, — is this disappointment expressed, or even its source fully realized, yet 
it is there. Certain it is that the possession of the skilled hand in domestic 
science and art, in addition to scholastic training, is a very much desired and 
much appreciated talent. 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



51 




Our state president giving an illustrated lesson in mowing weeds and grass to a 
School Improvement Club member at Bradshaw 

WHEN THE DAUGHTER GETS HOME FROM SCHOOL 

"Soon as she turned in and got 

Supper fer us — smokin' hot — 

And the 'dishes' all wuz through. 

Sich a supper! W'y, I set 

There and et, and et, and et! 

Jes et on, tel Jonas he 

Pushed his chair back, laughed, and says, 
T could walk fo s log!' and we 

All laughed then, tel 'Viry she 

Lit the lamp — and I give in! 

Riz and kissed her: 'Heaven bless 

You!' says I — 'you're home ag'in — 

Same old dimple in your chin, 

Same white apern,' I — says-ee, 
'Same sweet girl, and good to see 

As your mother ust to be, — 

And I got you home ag'in — 

Home ag'in with me!'" 

— James Whitcomb Riley, in "Home Folks." 



THE STATE CONTEST 

The object of our state contest is to stimulate girls to try. Our schools of 
Domestic Science have demonstrated the fallacy of the expression "cooks are 
born not made." Almost without exception girls in domestic science classes 
in our schools and girls at home, if they follow carefully and explicitly the di- 
rections given, are successful in their work. Many times the fault is in the 



52 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



recipe. Recipes are too often written for practiced cooks who know how to 
"fill in" the omission of detail. When in doubt as to procedure ask some one 
who knows, or carefully decide on what seems a reasonable method of pro- 
cedure, then experiment until you know. 

The recipes given herein have been thoroly tested. You may have better or 
may secure better recipes. After trying these recipes as given you may alter 
them and get results that may please you. 

Do not let failures discourage you. Note carefully what you do, the results, — 
and then try again. A few disappointments, burns, and failures test your true 
metal and develop a degree of patience, perseverance, and control of self neces- 
sary to character building. You cannot fail if you proceed intelligently, — and 
persevere. Success is worth more than it costs. 








A SECTION OF THE CORN COOKING EXHIBIT AT THE 1905 CONTEST 



Class A. 
Class B. 
Class C. 
Class D. 
Class E. 
coanut, 



Class J. 

Class K. 

Class L.. 

Class M. 

Class O. 

Class P. 



READ "GENERAL DIRECTIONS TO CONTESTANTS' 
COOKING EXHIBIT 



Corn Bread. 

Corn Products. 

Wheat Bread (one loaf). 

Brown Bread (one loaf). 

Cake (fruit, chocolate, co- 

and sponge cakes). 



Class F. Ginger Cookies, % dozen. 
Class G. Sugar Cookies, % dozen. 
Class H. Doughnuts, y 2 dozen. 
Note: Class B includes any cooked 
article or dish made in whole or in 
part from a corn product. 



CANNED FRUITS AND JELLIES 



Canned Pears. 
Canned Peaches. 
Canned Cherries. 
Canned Plums. 
Canned Strawberries. 
Canned Blackberries. 



Class R. Canned Raspberries. 
Class S. Canned Apples. 
Class T. Apple Jelly. 
Class U. Grape Jelly. 
Class V. Peach Jelly. 
Class W. Currant Jelly. 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



53 



NEEDLE WORK 



Hand-made Work Apron. 
Hand-made Fancy Apron. 
Hand-made Sofa Pillow 



Class A. 
Class B. 
Class C. 

Cover. 
Class D. Specimen of Patching or 

Darning. 



Class E. Dressed Doll (garments all 
handmade). 

Class F. Any hand-made house orna- 
ment or article for use about the 
home. 









7TB 






L r^ 




JKQv^Sf* 


^^••'«l 




Si* i' 


jUm 








%^^^^^^ 






faiflr"""'^' 


fi^^Bj^^^ 


i 4iL .^HE 


B^* i . — 






v^hWH 






Hi£?f '''' ■ 




flHHEHE 


ENfMSBH 




P k v S 





A York county Domestic Science Club having a good time with needle and thread. 

BOYS' COOKING EXHIBIT 

Last year after opening the cooking contest to girls, we received numerous 
requests from boys asking that they might likewise enter. We have a boys' 
cooking department in our exhibit this year. Any Nebraska boy of school age 
may enter. The classes of exhibits will be the same as for girls, but in the 
arrangement of the prize list, boys will compete only with each other. We are 
pleased to encourage the boys to become useful about the home. Cooking is a 
science and an art which requires careful thought and application. The art 
of cookery is useful to whomsoever masters it. Boys who are interested may 
be pleased to quote the words of Burton: 

"Cookery is become an art, 
A noble science; 
Cooks are gentlemen." 
Our boys may demonstrate, also, that gentlemen can be cooks. 



MANUAL TRAINING EXHIBIT 

Class A. Any article for use about the home. 
Class B. Any article for ornament about the home. 

Class C. Any hand-made models of machinery of any kind, buildings, 
bridges, boats, etc., may be entered in this class. 



54 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 




CHARLES METZGER, PAWNEE COUNTY 

Winner of the first prize in the 1905 boys' corn cooking contest 



COLLECTIVE EXHIBITS 

Class X. Individual. 

Div. 1. Collective Corn Products, Made or Grown by Contestants. — The ex- 
hibitor may enter in this division any number of different corn products 
whether they be cooked corn products, articles made by hand from corn prod- 
ucts or different varieties of corn grown by the exhibitor. 

Div. 2. General Collection of Varieties of Corn. — In this division any boy or 
girl may exhibit as many varieties of corn as they can secure, without regard 
as to by whom the corn was grown. The prizes in this division are offered for 
collecting, not for growing corn. For this exhibit the contestant should secure 
the best six ears he can of each of as many varieties of corn as possible. This 
may include all the kinds and varieties of corn grown in the state. 

Div. 3. General Agricultural Collective Exhibit. — This class includes any and 
all agricultural products grown in the county. The contestant may enter any 
agricultural product without regard as to by whom it was grown except that it 
be grown in the county represented. The prizes offered are not for the growing 
of these products but for collecting them. Contestants should enter only one 
specimen of large vegetables, not to exceed three of the ordinary vegetables, 
six ears of corn of each variety, and the bundles and sheaves of grain or grass 
should not exceed four inches in diameter at the band and should be neatly 
trimmed. 

Div. 4. Hand Made Articles. — In this division any boy or girl may exhibit 
hand made articles of any kind, the only restriction being that the articles all 
be made by the contestant. 

Class Y. School Collective Exhibits. — All articles entered in all other classes 
by all contestants from the school entering this collective class will constitute 
the school collective exhibit. This class will have three divisions. 




PRIZE WINNERS IN THE 1905 CONTEST FROM DISTRICT 20, THE LOWER WEST BRANCH 

SCHOOL, PAWNEE CO. 

This school is located 8 miles southwest of Pawnee City. The school won the first 
prize offered for collective exhibits by rural schools 



56 THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 

Div. 1. Rural Schools. 

Div. 2. Village or Town Schools. 

Div. 3. City Schools. 

Class Z. General County Collective Exhibit. This class includes all articles 
entered in all classes by all contestants from the county. 

Discretionary Class. In this class any contestant may enter any exhibit of 
special merit which cannot be entered in other classes. This may include any 
especially fine specimens of vegetable or plant grown by the contestant or any 
article prepared by the contestant. 

RECIPES 

Use level measurements in all recipes here given. 

BAKED CORN BREAD OR GOLDEN CORN CAKE 
R. B. 
% cup corn meal y 2 teaspoon salt 

I14 cups flour 1 cup milk 

% cup sugar 1 egg 

4 teaspoons baking powder 1 tablespoon melted butter 

Mix and sift dry ingredients; add milk, egg well beaten and butter; bake in 
shallow buttered pan in hot oven twenty minutes. 

The above amount will make a cake about 2 inches thick, if baked in pan 
6x8 inches. Level measurements should be used. 

STEAMED CORN BREAD 
R. B. 

4 cups of sour milk y» cup raisins seeded 

2 cups molasses 3 teaspoonsful salt 

2% cups corn meal 5 teaspoonsful soda 

2 cups Graham flour 

Steam four hours. The level measurement should be used. The soda should 
be thoroly dissolved. 

One-half of this recipe may be used to advantage. 

CORN BREAD, LIKE MOTHER USED TO MAKE 

2 cups corn meal % CU P (creamed or melted) butter 

or fresh lard 
1 cup flour 

1 cup milk 
y s cup sugar 1 teaspoon salt 

6 teaspoons baking powder 2 eggs well beaten 

Mix dry ingredients thoroly, stir' in butter, eggs and liquids; put in a well 
buttered pie tin or shallow pan, and bake 23 minutes in a hot oven. Use level 
measurements. 

GRAHAM-CORN BREAD 
L. M. B. 
1 egg. y 2 cup sugar. 

1 teaspoonful soda (2 if milk is quite sour). 

1 pint sour milk and cream (about % cream). 1 cup graham flour. 
Enough corn meal to make a batter. 1 teaspoonful salt. 
Beat egg well in mixing dish. 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 57 

Add salt. If put in with egg, it makes egg lighter. 

Add sugar. 

Dissolve the soda thoroly in the sour milk, then pour into mixing dish. 

Stir in graham flour, then add corn meal gradually. 

Bake in two pie tins in a rather quick oven twenty minutes. 

JUST CORN BREAD 
L. M. B. 
1 egg- Vz cup sugar 2 cups flour 

lYa cups sweet milk 5 teaspoons baking powder 

1 cup corn meal 2 tablespoons melted butter 

Use level measurements. 
Break egg into mixing dish and beat well, then add sugar and milk. 
Sift together baking powder, flour, and meal. 
Melt butter and stir in last. 
Bake twenty minutes in a rather quick oven in two shallow pie tins. 

KENTUCKY SOFT CORN BREAD 
Miss Atholene Peyton, Louisville, Ky. 

1 cup scalded corn meal. 

y 2 teaspoon salt 

1 tablespoon lard and butter mixed; y 2 cup of flour. 

Yolks of tbree eggs and enough milk to make a batter like griddle cakes. 

Beat the whites of eggs; add 2 teaspoons of baking powder to some dry meal, 
and put in last. Sugar may be added if desired. 

Butter a deep pan or dish; bake a golden brown in a moderate oven. This 
is delicious and liked by those who like a sott bread. 

KENTUCKY ALL-CORN BREAD 
Atholene Peyton 

2 cups of corn meal 2 eggs 

1 tablespoon of sugar 2 full tablespoons of butter (melted} 

2 teaspoons of baking powder 1 cup milk 

y 2 tablespoon of salt Bake in a narrow pan 20 minutes 

CORN MEAL MUFFINS 
Atholene Peyton 
2 cups of corn meal 1 teaspoon of baking powder 

1 pint milk 1 full tablespoon of lard 

1 egg; y 2 cup of flour 1 teaspoon of sugar 

Grease muffin rings with lard and fill % full. Bake in a moderate oven. 

CORN PONE 
L. M. B. 
1 cup corn meal. 

% teaspoon salt. 

1 scant cup water. 

V 2 tablespoon melted butter. 

Mix thoroly; spread thin in well buttered pie tins. Put in hot oven and bake 
until crisp (about thirty minutes). The oven should be allowed to gradually 
cool to medium heat. 

Serve hot. 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 59 

SPONGE CAKE 

Note: All cake recipes are taken from "Peytonia Cook Book" by 
Miss Atholene Peyton. 

Sponge cakes, or butterless cakes, depend on the well-beaten whites of eggs 
for lightness. You must get enough air in the dough to make it light, and 
bake slowly but Ihoroly. The shape, too, decides in the quality of the cake. 
Layer cakes or small cakes require less flour than a loaf. When the whites 
are put into the mixture they must be folded in and not stirred, or the cake 
will be tough. 

YELLOW SPONGE CAKE 

Yolks of five eggs Grated rind of half lemon and juice 

1 cup of sugar Whites of five eggs 

1 tablespoon of lemon juice 1 cup of flour 
^4 teaspoon of salt 

Beat yolks until thick and lemon colored; add sugar gradually and continue 
beating, using Dover egg beater. Add lemon juice, rind, whites of eggs beaten 
stiff, and bake an hour. 

WHITE CAKE 
A. P. 

Whites of 12 eggs 3% cups flour sifted three times 

1 full teacup butter 2y 2 teaspoons baking powder 

y 2 cup cream Speck of salt 
2 1 /2 teacups sugar 

Cream, butter and sugar until light. Add the beaten stiff whites of eggs, 
then the flour, flavoring, cream and baking powder. Bake in a solid loaf for 
an hour. When cold, ice with lemon frosting or chocolate. 

SPONGE CAKE 
A. P. 

5 eggs IV2 cups flour 

iy 2 cups granulated sugar y 2 teaspoon cream of tartar 

Cream eggs and sugar, add flour, cream of tartar and flavoring. Bake in a 
moderate oven. 

GINGER COOKIES 
R. B. 

1 cup molasses y 2 teaspoon soda 

y 2 cup shortening 1 tablespoon ginger 

Zy± cups flour iy 2 teaspoons salt 

Heat molasses to boiling point and pour over shortening. Add dry ingredi- 
ents mixed and sifted. Chill thoroly. Toss one-fourth of mixture on floured 
board and roll as thinly as possible; shape with a small, round cutter, first 
dipped in flour. Place near together on a buttered sheet and bake in a mod- 
erate oven. Gather up the trimmings and roll with another portion of dough. 
During rolling, the bowl containing mixture should be kept in a cool place or 
it will be necessary to add more flour to dough which makes cookies hard 
rather than crisp and short. 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 61 

SUGAR COOKIES WITH EGGS 
R. B. 
y 2 cup butter 2y 2 cups flour 

1 cup sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 

2 eggs y 2 teaspoon lemon extract 
1 tablespoon milk y 2 teaspoon grated nutmeg 

Cream the butter, add sugar, eggs well beaten, milk and lemon extract. Mix 
and sift dry ingredients and add to the first mixture. Proceed as with ginger 
snaps. 

SUGAR COOKIES, WITHOUT EGGS 
R. B. 
y-z cup butter 2% cups flour 

1 cup sugar 2y, teaspoons baking powder 

y 2 cup milk flavor to taste 

Mix and bake as cookies with eggs, except that more flour may be needed 
to make dough stiff enough to roll. 

Many varieties may be made by using the above recipes as a basis and add- 
ing one or more of the following ingredients: Chopped raisins, nuts, spices, 
cocoanut or chocolate. Sprinkle sugar over' top of cookies. 

DOUGHNUTS 

R. B. 

1 cup sugar i/ 4 teaspoon cinnamon 

2VL> tablespoons butter Vi teaspoon grated nutmeg 

3 eggs li/o teaspoons salt 
1 cup milk zy 2 cups flour 

4 teaspoons baking powder 

Cream the butter and add one-half sugar. Beat eggs until light, add remain- 
ing sugar and combine mixtures. Add flour, mixed and sifted with baking pow- 
der, salt and spices; then enough more flour to make dough stiff enough to 
roll. Toss one-third of mixture on floured board ,knead, slightly pat and roll 
out to one-fourth thickness. Shape with a doughnut cutter, fry in deep fat, 
take up on a skewer and drain on brown paper. Add trimmings to one-half 
remaining mixture, roll, shape and fry as before. Repeat. Doughnuts should 
come quickly to top of fat, brown on one side, then be turned to brown on the 
other; avoid turning more than once. The fat must be kept at a uniform tem- 
perature. If too cold, doughnuts will absorb fat; if too hot will brown before 
sufficiently risen. 

Fat should be of such a temperature that it will change a cube of soft bread 
to a golden brown color in 40 seconds. 

Recipes for Ginger cookies, cookies with eggs, and doughnuts are adapted 
from the Boston Cooking School Cook Book by Miss Fannie M. Farmer. 

RECIPES FROM SUCCESSFUL CONTESTANTS, 1905 
Corn-cob Sirup 

One-half dozen red corn-cobs; add two quarts of hot water and boil three 
hours. Strain thru cloth; add two cups of sugar and boil until it becomes a 
thick sirup. 

Annabelle Turnbull. Pawnee County. 



62 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



Corn Starch Pudding 

One quart sweet milk; sweeten to taste. Put on stove and allow to come to 
a boil, then stir in one-half cup corn starch, one teaspoon vanilla and a few 
drops of fruit coloring; top off with whipped cream. Allow to cool thoroly 
before putting on cream. Lizzie Burnham. 

Lancaster County. 
Corn Salad 

I took twelve ears of sweet corn, not too hard, cut it from the cob and run it 
thru a food grinder. I then took a small head of cabbage, run it thru the food 
grinder and mixed the corn and cabbage together. I then added two quarts of 
vinegar, one-fourth pound of mustard, one teaspoonful of salt, two tablespoons- 
ful of sugar with the above mixture, and cooked twenty minutes. 

Grace Heiderstadt, 
Fillmore County. 




The Eighth Grade at the Bancroft school, Lincoln , served a dinner "all cooked by 

ourselves" 



CANNING OF FRUIT 
Rosa Bouton 

Killing the Bacteria. — The decay of fruit is due to microscopic organisms 
called bacteria, which are always present on fresh fruit. Canned fruit will not 
keep unless these bacteria are killed and the admission of others prevented. 
This result may be secured by two processes. 

Method I. The fruit is cooked before putting it into the cans, thereby killing 
the tiny organisms present, and then closing the cans air tight so that no more 
may enter. 

Method II. This differs from the first in that the fruit is cooked after it is 
put in the cans before they are tightly closed. 

Methods Compared. — So far as the preservation of the fruit is concerned the 
methods are equally good, provided the same amount of care is used in each. 
The first method is quicker if small amounts of fruit are to be put up. The 
second method breaks the fruit less. 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 63 

In cooking the fruit by the second method the glass cans must not be placed 
on the bottom of the kettle or boiler in which they are to be cooked as such 
treatment is likely to result in cracked cans. Some material which will allow 
the water to pass freely under the cans must be placed on the bottom of the 
boiler. Sometimes cloth is used for this purpose. If much canning is to be 
done by the second method it is better to have made a perforated support of 
metal or wood, which will fit in the bottom of the vessel, be it boiler or kettle, 
in which the boiling is to be done. On this support the cans may be placed, 
care being taken that they do not touch each other. 

Partitions an inch high may be made on the upper surface of the support in 
which the cans may be placed. If it is not convenient to make these partitions 
the cans may be kept from touching each other by means of cloth or thin pieces 
of wood. The cans filled with fruit and loosely covered are placed on the sup- 
port and surrounded with water two-thirds of the way to the top of the can. 
The vessel is then covered and tne water brought to "the boiling point and 
boiled for an hour or more according to the nature of the fruit. 

Preparation of Cans. — Care should be taken to use covers which fit the cans 
tightly. Always use new rubbers as rubber becomes porous when kept a long 
time. Wash thoroly the cans and covers. Sterilize them, that is, kill all the 
bacteria on them by placing them in a pan of cold or warm — not hot — water, 
and gradually bringing the water to the boiling point. In this water allow 
them to remain until ready to fill with fruit. 

Preparation of Fruit. — Berries should be carefully looked over and washed. 
The washing may be easily done by placing them in a colander in a pan of 
water or by putting the colander containing them under running water. Cher- 
ries may be canned with or without the pits. Plums are canned with or with- 
out the skins. Apples, pears and peaches are pared for canning. Tho these 
fruits are sometimes pickled without paring and put up in cans. 

Sugar Used in Canning. — The amount of sugar to be used in canning fruit 
varies according to the kind of fruit and the result desired. Some people can 
fruit without using sugar — adding it whenever the fruit is served. The flavor 
is, however, much better if the sugar be cooked with the fruit when it is canned. 
Sour fruit, like gooseberries, require a larger amount of sugar than peaches. 
The difference between preserves and ordinary canned fruit is that the former 
contains much more sugar than the latter. Large amounts of sugar hinder the 
growth of bacteria, hence, preserves are not always canned. 

Perhaps the best general rule as to the amount of sugar to be used is one 
cup of sugar to one quart of uncooked fruit. This amount should be increased 
or decreased according to the nature of the fruit and the taste of the individual. 

Cooking the Fruit. — If method I be used, the fruit should be measured and 
put into a porcelain or granite iron kettle, the proportionate amount of sugar 
added, and enough water put in to just cover the fruit. The whole should then 
be brought to the boiling point and gently cooked until the fruit is tender. 
Care should be taken to stir no more than is necessary to keep the fruit from 
burning on the bottom of the kettle, as stirring breaks the fruit. When the 
cooking is complete place a warm sterilized can, on which the rubber has been 
placed, on a damp cloth and fill with hot fruit to the brim. Screw on cover. 

If method II be used, fill sterilized cans with uncooked fruit. Place on sup- 
port in boiler of warm water. Pour over the fruit in these cans a hot syrup, 
the sweetness of which varies according to suggestions made above. Pill the 
cans nearly full, leaving a little space for the expansion of the fruit as it be- 



64 THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 

comes hot. Put the covers of the cans on loosely, as there is danger of the 
cans breaking if the covers be screwed on tightly, because of lack of room for 
expansion due to the heating of the fruit. All fruit should be heated until it is 
thcroly cooked or until tender. The more difficult the fruit is to keep the 
longer it should be cooked. When the cooking is finished and the water no 
longer boils the covers may be screwed down tightly. 

After the Fruit Is Canned. — Take care not to set the hot can of fruit on a 
cold surface, as there is danger of breaking the can. Turn the cans upside 
down and leave in that position over night. If no juice comes out they are air 
tight. Tighten the covers, label, and put in a cool place. 

Write to Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, for free bulletin No. 
203, "Canned Fruits, Preserves, and Jellies"; No. 94, "The Vegetable Garden"; 
No. 154, "The Home Fruit Garden"; No. 256, "Preparation of Vegetables for the 
Table"; No. 255, "The Home Vegetable Garden"; and to the Agricultural Ex- 
periment Station, Lincoln, Nebraska, for free bulletin No. 80, "Garden Veg- 
etables." 

WORK APRON OR SEWING APRON 
Nellie Lynch, Columbus, Nebr. 

Take three-fourths yards of gingham 27 inches wide and turn it up at the 
bottom 6 inches. This makes a large pocket at bottom of apron, which we di- 
vide into four parts which makes four pockets at bottom of apron. Use check 
gingham and sew with the plain cross stitch, filling each check. 

FANCY APRON 
Nellie Lynch 
Fancy or white aprons are made by using three-fourths yards of India mus- 
lin. Cut out a round apron 15 inches long. Around the edge sew a ruffle made 
from four widths of the muslin hemmed by hand stitching. Finish where ruffle 
sews to apron with a felled seam or overseam. Edge ruffle with lace and put 
on belt, using button hole and button for fastening, in order to show hand work 
better; make fancy pocket for apron. 

FANCY WORK APRON 

Lily A. Wilkinson, Kimball 

Note : This apron is very attractive in appearance. The author of these directions, 
Miss Lily Wilkinson, when first seen by the manager, at her home, was wearing one of 
these aprons made by herself. He asked her to write out directions for making the apron, 
that thru the "Corn Book" other girls might learn to make the same kind of an apron. 
A distinctive feature of this apron is the side extension of the pocket. The inner side of 
the top piece of the pocket is extended to the waistband. The outer side of the top of 
the pocket, extending about half way across the top of the pocket, is the same depth as 
the ordinary pocket. The long inner side of the pocket reaches to the waistband. It 
gives the top piece of the pocket somewhat the appearance of a long pipe. 

Directions 

Three widths, any desired length, are used in the skirt of this apron. Front 
width is gored slightly on both sides, side widths on one side. After hemming 
gored sides of side widths sew selvedge to front width. 

After facing outside edge of pocket with bias strip, or hemming, turn under 
about a quarter of an inch of remaining edge (except end of long strip which 
is to be fastened into the waist band). Place long inside edge of pocket over 
right seam of skirt, then baste and sew edge in place. A pocket may be placed 
on left side if desired. 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 65 

Make flounce of five straight widths seven inches wide. Make a lV^-inch hem 
on bottom and gather at top. Sew gathered edge to bottom of skirt and face 
under with strips of goods two inches wide, cut same way in goods as flounce. 

Gather top of skirt ready to put in band. For band cut two strips, waist 
measure, about two inches wide — same way in goods as flounce. Turn under 
about 14-inch on edges of each strip. Place edge of one strip over gathered 
top of skirt on right side and one on the wrong side. Baste and sew in place. 
Leave top edges open until bib is inserted. 

Hem bib on both sides; gather top and bottom. 

Yoke of bib and straps are made in one. The facing is cut the same as the 
outside. Turn under about %-inch on edges of yoke and straps; lay the two — 
the outside side and facing — together ("wrong side to") and baste and sew, 
first placing the lower edge of the yoke over the upper gathered edge of the 
bib. After the yoke and straps are securely stitched around, insert lower gath- 
ered edge of the bib into open waistband, being careful to place the center of 
the bib on the center of the band. Baste the band and facing together and sew. 

Work button holes in ends of straps and one side of waistband. Sew on 
buttons. 

In cutting out the apron always place center of the front width of skirt, the 
center of bib, and center of the yoke on the lengthwise fold. Straps should 
cross in back. 

THE 1906 CORN CONTEST AND CONVENTION 

The Second Annual Nebraska Corn Contest and Convention of the Nebraska 
Boys' Agricultural Association and the Nebraska Girls' Domestic Science As- 
sociation will be held at Lincoln, December 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15, 1906. 

WHO MAY ENTER 

Any Nebraska boy or girl under 21 years of age may enter the contests as 
herein specified. Members who have become 21 years of age since joining one 
of the associations are retained as members, but they may not compete in the 
contests. No entrance fee will be charged for exhibits. 

OFFICIAL BADGE 

The official badge is an enameled ear of corn in colors on a badge pin. The 
official badge is presented to each contestant who is present at the state 
meeting and to other members (not contestants) who attend the state meeting. 
The wearer of the official badge is admitted free to all meetings of the con- 
vention and privileged to view the contest exhibition. The official badge will 
be issued to members on registration at headquarters. 

HEADQUARTERS 

Headquarters this year will be at the Lindell hotel, 13th and M Sts. On ar- 
rival in the city each contestant or member should come directly to headquar- 
ters, register, receive the official badge, and see that his exhibit is properly 
placed at once. 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 67 

EXHIBIT BUILDING 

The city of Lincoln has generously provided for our use during the entire 
week, the city auditorium. This building provides sufficient space for exhibit 
purposes with a large seating capacity in the galleries. The building is di- 
rectly across the street from the Lindell hotel, our headquarters. All members 
will be given free admittance to the exhibit. 

NOTICE TO EXHIBITORS 

Read all directions to contestants. See that your exhibit is in proper shape; 
that it reaches the exhibit building at the proper time; and that the proper 
entry is made. Special directions to contestants are given under each depart- 
ment. Read carefully "Directions to Contestants." 

STATE OFFICERS 

State Manager, E. C. Bishop, Lincoln 
Nebraska Boys' Nebraska Girls' 

Agricultural Association. Domestic Science Association. 

Pres., Jas. Loomis, Ord. Pres., Margaret Whitley, Normal. 

V. Pres., Lester Moore, Seward. V. Pres., Grace Aldrich, Ord. 

Sec, Hugh Garrett, Geneva. Sec, Eva Bolton, Geneva. 

Treas., Patrick Hickey, West Point. Treas., Hattie Thompson, Clay Center. 

Executive Committees: The officers of the two associations comprise the 
respective executive committees. 

Advisory Council. The advisory council is composed of the officers of the 
various county organizations. 

MEMBERSHIP 

Active. Any Nebraska boy or girl of school age may become a member. 

Honorary Member. Any teacher or other person whose interest and activity 
makes his services valuable to the organizations may become an honorary 
member. 

Club Membership. Any county or school boys' or girls' club may become an 
active club member by complying with the regulations of the state associations. 

County Manager. The county superintendent, or a person appointed by him, 
is ex-officio manager of the county club. 

School Improvement Clubs. The teacher or some person appointed by him 
is ex-officio manager of the School Improvement Club. 

Membership Dues. The annual membership fee is- 10c for regular members. 
The payment of this membership fee entitles the member to a copy of the 
"Corn Book," prize list, program and other printed announcements; and on 
registration at the state meeting an official badge which admits the bearer to 
all regular meetings of the associations. This applies only to persons who be- 
come members before the date of the state meeting. 

Local Membership Fee. Any boy or girl eligible to membership who does 
not become a member previous to the date of the state meeting, December 11, 
1906, may share the privileges of the convention and contest program on pay- 
ment of the local fee of 25 cents. 

UOFC. 





JAMES LOOMIS, PRESIDENT N. B. A. A. LESTER MOORE, VICE-PRESIDENT N. B. A. A. 





MARGARET WHITLEY, PRESIDENT N. G. D. A. GRACE ALDRICH, VICE-PRESIDENT N. G. D. A. 





HUGH GARRETT, SECRETARY N. B. A. A. PATRICK V. HICKEY, TREASURER N. B. A. A. 





EVA BOLTON, SECRETARY N. G. D. A. 



HATTIE E. THOMPSON, TREASURER 
N. G. D. A. 



70 THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 

Honorary Membership Fee. Honorary members who attend the state con- 
vention and contest will be entitled to all the general privileges of the pro- 
gram on payment of the local honorary membership fee of 25 cents. 

Contestants are Members. Each contestant who last spring entered one or 
more of the agricultural contests, having paid the fee of 22 cents therefor, is 
a paidup member of the association and will be furnished free a copy of the 
"Corn Book," prize list, program, and such other literature as is issued to 
members; and on registration at the state convention and contest will be is- 
sued an official badge. 

Other Contestants. Contestants entering exhibits in either the agricultural, 
the domestic science, or the manual training contests become members with- 
out the payment of membership dues, and on registration at headquarters will 
receive the official badge. 

Prize List 

The prize list for the various contests will be published and sent to all regis- 
tered contestants before the date of the state meeting. 

Railway Rates. 

We expect to secure the usual one fare round trip railway rates on all lines 
in Nebraska leading to Lincoln. 

OUR HEADQUARTERS 

The Lindell, Lincoln's leading hotel, will be official headquarters. It is well 
fitted to entertain hundreds of corn contestants and their friends. The regular 
rates at this hotel are from $2.00 to $3.50 per day. For our meeting an exceed- 
ingly low special rate has been made of $1.50 per day. The hotel is just across 
the street from the City Auditorium where the exhibit and contest will be held. 

LOCAL EXPENSES 

Local expenses while in attendance at the contest and convention need not 
exceed that of the individual at home. Meals are served in the city from 15c, 
up and rooms may be secured from 25c, up. The very generous special rate of 
$1.50 per day granted by the Lindell hotel, "Our Headquarters," is exceedingly 
low for the excellent service given. The principal places of holding the dif- 
ferent sessions of the program are close to headquarters. All points of interest 
in and about Lincoln are reached by street car. 

Delegates 

Any school may be represented at the state meeting by as many delegates 
as desired. Each school is requested to choose and send one authorized dele- 
gate who will represent the district in the business meeting and who should 
be instructed to make report to the school on return from the state meeting. 

County Delegations 

The county superintendent in each county is authorized to organize the 
county delegation. Special cars will be provided from points where the dele- 
gations are sufficiently large. 




Q 



g< 



72 THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 

CONVENTION PROGRAM 

The program this year will be a combined "School of Instruction" and enter- 
tainment course. The School of Instruction will include section meetings each 
day, in which instruction will be given in various lines of agriculture and do- 
mestic science by special instructors from the University of Nebraska 
and from abroad. The City Auditorium, Representative Hall in the Capitol 
Building, Memorial Hall, Agricultural Hall and other rooms at the University 
of Nebraska and State Farm, and St. Paul's church will be the principal places 
of holding meetings. 

Two general sessions will be held each day. For these meetings we are now 
arranging for some of the best talent in the country. 

The National Department of Agriculture will be represented by Mr. Dick J. 
Crosby of Washington, D. C, the government specialist in agricultural educa- 
tion, who, in addition to conducting classes in the School of Instruction during 
the convention, will give an illustrated lecture on agricultural education in 
connection with the public schools as conducted in the United States and other 
countries. 

Mr. Alfred Montgomery of Illinois, "The Farmer Painter of the World" and 
Chautauqua entertainer, will be present during the entire time of the conven- 
tion to instruct and entertain. Mr. Montgomery is the leader in his art. In 
recognition of his work and for use in a text book for the public schools of the 
city of Washington, D. C, Mr. Montgomery recently received $10,000 for a 
single painting showing a farm scene. His "Living Corn Picture," that so de- 
ceived Congressman Dickson, was later bought by President McKinley. The 
original "Bunch of Corn" picture, a cut of which appeared on the menu card 
at the Omaha Corn Banquet, was later searched out and bought by President 
Roosevelt. 

Mr. Montgomery will bring with him and have on exhibition in the city audi- 
torium, where the contest exhibits will be on display, his collection of paint- 
ings valued at $60,000. In his letter accepting the invitation to be at our con- 
vention he writes in relation to his part of the program, "When I am not talk- 
ing, I shall be painting." We shall see him paint. Mr. Montgomery is recog- 
nized as the greatest "Farm Painter" of our time. He is an artist and an en- 
tertainer alone worth the entire cost of coming to Lincoln to hear and see. 

Mr. C. S. Harrison, the "Plant Wizard" of Nebraska, who so delightfully 
entertained the girls' section last year, will be with us again this year, and 
will conduct classes in the School of Instruction in both boys' and girls' sec- 
tions. 

Negotiations are pending with other talented persons who will appear on the 
program. We have already engaged the services of the Peru State Normal 
Male Quartet, which will be with us during the entire convention, and the Uni- 
versity of Nebraska Mandolin and Glee Club. The University Military Band, 
the largest and best band organization of its kind in the state, will again fur- 
nish music for our convention. 

The program is designed to provide instruction in lines of agriculture and 
domestic science that will be of much value to every member attending, and 
in addition will give each member the benefit of the best entertainers that 
can be brot to our meeting. The program in full will be published before the 
date of the state meeting and will be sent to all members and others applying 
for the same. 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



73 







UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MILITARY BAND 

This band will give a concert one evening 
LOCAL EXCURSIONS 



Trolley excursions to the many interesting points in and about Lincoln will 
be planned as last year. Capital Beach, Epworth Lake Park, Lincoln Park, 
Antelope Park, College View, Fairview, (Bryan's Home) Wyuka Cemetery, 
University Place, Havelock, the State Penitentiary, the Insane Asylum, Home 
for the Friendless, Tabitha Home, and Bethany are included in the points of 
interest in the suburbs of Lincoln. The Capitol Building, the State Farm, the 
various buildings and departments of the University of Nebraska, and Lin- 
coln's varied and numerous other educational institutions, visits to some of the 
large department stores, and the fire run exhibits by the city fire department 
are among the attractions that will provide profitable entertainment to supple- 
ment the regular program of the convention. More real education will be 
crowded in one short week than the study of books alone can bring in a much 
longer time. 

Mckinley chimes 

The McKinley chime of bells will be rung each day for the entertainment of 
visitors. 

EXCUSED ABSENCE FROM SCHOOL 

It is recommended that school boards grant leave of absence to teachers who 
accompany their pupils to this convention and that pupils be excused from 
school duties during the time of attendance at the convention. 



74 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 




THE PERU STATE NORMAL SCHOOL QUARTET 

Will sing each day during the convention 



GENERAL DIRECTIONS TO CONTESTANTS 
AGRICULTURAL EXHIBITS 

A report blank and entry card will be sent to each contestant who was fur- 
nished seed in any of the four agricultural contests. Any such contestant who 
fails to receive these should notify the manager. Any Nebraska boy or girl of 
school age who has raised, by his own effort, corn, potatoes, or sugar-beets 
may enter Class C, Corn Exhibit; Class B, Potato Exhibit; or Class B, Sugar- 



. L 


rrP\ 


■9, m*'f< 




HhBSw^" 




1— - ■ ■■ 


'* 1 


F- — 






Qfr™ 


||| 



CAMPUS VIEW UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



75 



beet Exhibit. See also "Discretionary Class." Report blank and entry card 
will be sent to any boy or girl desiring to enter any of these contests. In ap- 
plying for entry card and report blank give name and address plainly and state 
which contest or contests it is desired to enter. 

Photographs. — Much interest was added to our exhibit last year by the ap- 
pearance of photographs. Each agricultural contestant is requested, tho not 
required, to send a photograph of him or herself, or a photograph relating to 
the exhibit. This is not necessary, but we shall be glad to have photographs, 
large or small, of all contestants who can conveniently furnish them. 




A YOUNG SALINE COUNTY AGRICULTURIST 



DOMESTIC SCIENCE EXHIBITS 



Great care should be exercised in sending or bringing exhibits in cooking. 
Neatness and orderly arrangement has much to do with the appearance of the 
exhibit. The name of the contestant should be attached somewhere to the ex- 
hibit so that it will not easily be lost. Exhibits in sewing and house ornaments 
should be carefully packed so as to prevent bad results from wrinkling and 
other disorder in transit. The name of the article and address of the contest- 
ant should appear upon each article. Each exhibit of canned fruit or jelly 
should have the name of the exhibit and the name and address of the exhibitor 
securely fastened to it. 



MANUAL TRAINING EXHIBITS 

Exhibits in manual training should be carefully packed if sent to the exhibit. 
The name of the article and the name and address of the contestant should 
appear upon each article. 






ROBERT ENGEL, 



GRACE ODELL, 



Winner of the $100 prize in class A, Winner of first prize for corn bread, 
Corn Contest, 1905 1905 contest 





ANNABELLE TURNBULL, MILT0N H ARTWIG, 

Winner of the sweepstakes prize for col- Lir youngest prize winner in class B, 
lective exhibits, corn cooking, 1905 190 5 Corn Contest 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 77 

NOTICE TO EXHIBITORS 

Some exhibits were not shown or judged last year on account of reaching 
the exhibit building too late. Contestants who are unable to be present at the 
State Contest may send their exhibits by some other person who will bring 
them to the exhibit building and enter them, or contestants may send exhibits 
by mail, prepaid express or freight, directed to the State Manager, E. C. Bishop, 
Lincoln, Nebraska. 

All exhibits sent by mail, express or freight (with the exception of cooking 
exhibits which should not be prepared so long before the time of the exhibit) 
should be forwarded in time to reach Lincoln not later than December 8. All 
exhibits should be entered the first day of the exhibit, as the judging will be 
done the evening of the first day and in the morning of the second day. 

HOW TO ENTER EXHIBITS 

We desire, if possible, to have all entries recorded and entry cards made out 
before the date of the contest. 

(1) Contestants who are not provided with entry cards should ask the teach- 
er, county superintendent, or send to the state manager for the same. 

(2) Contestants who bring their exhibits to Lincoln should come directly to 
"headquarters," where further directions will be given them 1 . 

(3) Contestants who are unable to bring their exhibits to the contest should 
secure entry cards to accompany their exhibits and follow directions as given 
under "Notice to Exhibitors." 

CERTIFICATE AND AFFIDAVIT 

In entering, each contestant will be required to certify in writing that his or 
her exhibit is the product of his or her own effort and that all the conditions 
of the contest have been met. 

In order that all contestants may know that they are protected against com- 
petition with ineligible entries, before the most valuable prizes will be awarded, 
the winning contestants will be required to furnish affidavit from parent or 
guardian testifying that the exhibitor has complied with all requirements of 
the contest. 

INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE EXHIBITS 

Each individual exhibit in any one of the contests may comprise a part of 
the collective exhibit of the school or of the county. 



CARE OF EXHIBITS 

The management will exercise all possible care in receiving, placing and 
returning exhibits, but each exhibitor is responsible for his own exhibit. Great 
care should be taken in packing exhibits and in seeing that they are properly 
labeled so that they will reach the contest in good condition, and that proper 
credit will be given the exhibitor. 



78 



THE NEBRASKA CORN BOOK 



DISPOSAL OF EXHIBITS 

All exhibits are at the disposal of the exhibitors at the close of the contest, 
with the exception of a few exhibits in the agricultural and cooking contests 
which win the most valuable prizes. These exhibits will be auctioned to the 
highest bidder. 

Exhibitors desiring the return of their exhibits should either call in person 
at the close of the exhibit or delegate some person to care for their exhibits. 

FREE BULLETINS 

If you wish to receive regularly the free bulletins issued by the Department 
of Agriculture send your name and address to the Department of Agriculture, 
Washington, D. C, and ask that your name be placed on file to receive the 
monthly publication giving list of available bulletins. If you desire the bul- 
letins from the Nebraska Experiment Station, University of Nebraska, send 
your address to the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, requesting that your 
name be listed for bulletins on such subjects as you may desire. 

PRINTED MATTER 

Premium lists, entry blanks, and program of the state convention and con- 
test will be forwarded before the time of the state meeting to all contestants 
whose names and addresses are filed in the manager's office. Any other per- 
son desiring such supplies should send name and address to the manager. 




BEC 5 1906 



INDEX 



Barley — History, "The Brewer's Grain," Varieties, Statistics 40-41 

Bulletins, Free 31, 38, 47, 49, 78 

Cereals, The 5 

Corn — Meaning of Word, Types, Kaffir Corn, As a Food, Structure and Com- 
position, Seed Corn, Testing, Planting, — Thickness, Depth, Size of Ear, 
Tillers, Corn Bill Bugs and the Corn Root Louse, Statistics, Cultivation, 
Judging, Score Card, Directions to Contestants, Corn Exhibit, Classes 
in the Corn Exhibit, Bulletins, Our National Emblem, The Royal Corn. 8-35 

Corn Contest and Convention, The 1906 — Who may enter, Official Badge, 
Headquarters, Exhibit Building, Notice to Exhibitors, State Officers, 
Membership, — Active, Honorary, Clubs, County Manager, School Im- 
provement Clubs, Membership Dues, Contestants are Members, Prize 
list, Railway Rates, Expenses, Delegates, Delegations, Excursions, Mc- 
Kinley Chimes, Excused Absence from School, Directions to Contest- 
ants, General, — Agricultural Exhibits, Domestic Science Exhibits, Man- 
ual Training Exhibits, Notice to Exhibitors, How to Enter, Certificate 
and Affidavit, Individual and Collective Exhibits, Care of Exhibits, 
Disposal of Exhibits, Printed Matter 65-78 

Discretionary Class 56 

Domestic Science — Introduction, State Contest, Cooking Exhibit, Canning 
Fruits and Jellies, Needle Work, Boys' Exhibit, Recipes; Baked Corn 
Bread, Steamed Corn Bread, Corn Bread Like Mother Used to Make, 
Graham Corn Bread, Kentucky Soft Corn Bread, Kentucky All-Corn 
Bread, Corn Meal Muffins, Corn Pone, Sponge Cake, Ginger 
Cookies, Sugar Cookies, Doughnuts, Corn-cob sirup, Corn Starch Pud- 
ding, Corn Salad 49-62 

Exhibits: Collective; Individual-Collective — Corn Products, Varieties of 
Corn, General Agricultural, Hand-made Articles. School-Collective, — 
Rural, Village or Town, City, County 54-56 

Exhibits: Individual; Corn 29-31, Wheat 38, Potatoes 46-47, Sugar Beets 
49, Domestic Science 52-53, Manual Training 53, Discretionary 56 

Fruit — Canning of, Killing the Bacteria, Methods, Preparation of Cans, 
Of Fruit, Sugar Used, Cooking the Fruit, After the Fruit is Canned . . 62-64 

Introductory 3 

Maize 6-8 

Manual Training, Exhibit 53 

Oats — History, Products, Statistics 39-40 

Potato, The — History, Adaption, Selection of Seed, Cutting, Preparation of 
Ground, Planting, Cultivation, Potato Bugs, Harvesting, Storage, Vari- 
eties, Statistics, A Paying Industry, The Potato Exhibit, Score Card, 43-47 

Rice — History, Varieties and Cultivation, Statistics 41— .3 

Sewing — Sewing Apron, Fancy Apron, Work Apron 64 

Sugar Beet, The — History, Production, Factories, Cultivation, Exhibit, Bul- 
letins 47-49 

Wheat — History, Types, Macaroni or Durum Wheat, White Bread, Flours, 

Statistics, Wheat Exhibit, Bulletins 35-38 



